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14 Copyright @copyright{} 1995-2012 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
17 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
18 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.3 or
19 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
20 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU Manual'',
21 and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the license
22 is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation License''.
24 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have the freedom to copy and
25 modify this GNU manual. Buying copies from the FSF supports it in
26 developing GNU and promoting software freedom.''
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309 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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324 @dircategory Emacs network features
326 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
335 @title Gnus Manual (DEVELOPMENT VERSION)
337 @ifclear WEBHACKDEVEL
341 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
343 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
351 @top The Gnus Newsreader
355 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
356 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@acronym{NNTP}, local
357 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
360 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
361 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.20
376 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
377 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
379 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
380 being accused of plagiarism:
382 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
383 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
384 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
385 can even read news with it!
387 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
388 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
389 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
390 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
391 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
394 @c Adjust ../Makefile.in if you change the following line:
395 This manual corresponds to No Gnus v0.20
397 @heading Other related manuals
399 @item Message manual: Composing messages
400 @item Emacs-MIME: Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
401 @item Sieve: Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
402 @item EasyPG: @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
403 @item SASL: @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
409 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
410 * Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
411 * Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
412 * Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
413 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
414 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
415 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
416 * Searching:: Mail and News search engines.
417 * Various:: General purpose settings.
418 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
419 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, @acronym{FAQ}, History, Internals.
420 * GNU Free Documentation License:: The license for this documentation.
421 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
422 * Key Index:: Key Index.
424 Other related manuals
426 * Message:(message). Composing messages.
427 * Emacs-MIME:(emacs-mime). Composing messages; @acronym{MIME}-specific parts.
428 * Sieve:(sieve). Managing Sieve scripts in Emacs.
429 * EasyPG:(epa). @acronym{PGP/MIME} with Gnus.
430 * SASL:(sasl). @acronym{SASL} authentication in Emacs.
433 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
437 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
438 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
439 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
440 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
441 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
442 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
443 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
444 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
445 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
446 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
450 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
451 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
452 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
456 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
457 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
458 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
459 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
460 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
461 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
462 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
463 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
464 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
465 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
466 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
467 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
468 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
469 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
470 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
471 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
472 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
473 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
477 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
478 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
479 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
483 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
484 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
485 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
486 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
487 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
491 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
492 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
493 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
494 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
495 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
499 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
500 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
501 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
502 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
503 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
504 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
505 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
506 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
507 * Threading:: How threads are made.
508 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
509 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
510 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
511 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
512 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
513 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
514 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
515 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
516 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
517 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
518 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
519 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
520 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
521 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
522 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
523 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
524 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
525 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
526 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
527 or reselecting the current group.
528 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
529 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
530 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
531 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
533 Summary Buffer Format
535 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
536 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
537 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
538 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
542 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
543 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
545 Reply, Followup and Post
547 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
548 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
549 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
550 * Canceling and Superseding::
554 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
555 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
556 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
557 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
558 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
559 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
563 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
564 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
566 Customizing Threading
568 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
569 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
570 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
571 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
575 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
576 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
577 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
578 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
579 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
580 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
584 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
585 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
586 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
590 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
591 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
592 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
593 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
594 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
595 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
596 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
597 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
598 * Article Display:: Display various stuff---X-Face, Picons, Smileys, Gravatars
599 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
600 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
602 Alternative Approaches
604 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
605 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
607 Various Summary Stuff
609 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
610 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
611 * Summary Generation Commands::
612 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
616 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
617 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @acronym{MIME} before reading them.
618 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
619 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
620 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
624 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
625 * Posting Server:: What server should you post and mail via?
626 * POP before SMTP:: You cannot send a mail unless you read a mail.
627 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
628 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
629 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
630 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
631 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
632 * Signing and encrypting:: How to compose secure messages.
636 * Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
637 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
638 * Using IMAP:: Reading mail from @acronym{IMAP}.
639 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
640 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
641 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files.
642 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
643 * Email Based Diary:: Using mails to manage diary events in Gnus.
644 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
648 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
649 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
650 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
651 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
652 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
653 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
654 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
658 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @acronym{NNTP} server.
659 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
663 * Direct Functions:: Connecting directly to the server.
664 * Indirect Functions:: Connecting indirectly to the server.
665 * Common Variables:: Understood by several connection functions.
666 * NNTP marks:: Storing marks for @acronym{NNTP} servers.
670 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
671 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
672 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
673 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
674 * Mail Back End Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
675 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
676 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
677 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
678 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
679 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
680 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
681 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail back ends for reading other files.
682 * Choosing a Mail Back End:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
686 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
687 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
688 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
690 Choosing a Mail Back End
692 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
693 * Babyl:: Babyl was used by older versions of Rmail.
694 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
695 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like back end.
696 * Maildir:: Another one-file-per-message format.
697 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
698 * Comparing Mail Back Ends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
703 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
704 * RSS:: Reading RDF site summary.
705 * Customizing W3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/W3 from Gnus.
709 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
710 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
711 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
712 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
713 * The Empty Backend:: The backend that never has any news.
717 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
721 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
725 * The NNDiary Back End:: Basic setup and usage.
726 * The Gnus Diary Library:: Utility toolkit on top of nndiary.
727 * Sending or Not Sending:: A final note on sending diary messages.
731 * Diary Messages:: What makes a message valid for nndiary.
732 * Running NNDiary:: NNDiary has two modes of operation.
733 * Customizing NNDiary:: Bells and whistles.
735 The Gnus Diary Library
737 * Diary Summary Line Format:: A nicer summary buffer line format.
738 * Diary Articles Sorting:: A nicer way to sort messages.
739 * Diary Headers Generation:: Not doing it manually.
740 * Diary Group Parameters:: Not handling them manually.
744 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
745 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
746 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
747 * Agent Visuals:: Ways that the agent may effect your summary buffer.
748 * Agent as Cache:: The Agent is a big cache too.
749 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
750 * Agent Regeneration:: How to recover from lost connections and other accidents.
751 * Agent and flags:: How the Agent maintains flags.
752 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with @acronym{IMAP}.
753 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
754 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
755 * Example Setup:: An example @file{~/.gnus.el} file for offline people.
756 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
757 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
761 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
762 * Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
763 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
767 * Group Agent Commands:: Configure groups and fetch their contents.
768 * Summary Agent Commands:: Manually select then fetch specific articles.
769 * Server Agent Commands:: Select the servers that are supported by the agent.
773 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
774 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
775 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
776 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
777 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
778 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
779 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
780 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
781 * Scoring On Other Headers:: Scoring on non-standard headers.
782 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
783 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
784 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
785 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
786 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
787 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
788 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
792 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
793 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
794 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
798 * nnir:: Searching with various engines.
799 * nnmairix:: Searching with Mairix.
803 * What is nnir?:: What does nnir do.
804 * Basic Usage:: How to perform simple searches.
805 * Setting up nnir:: How to set up nnir.
809 * Associating Engines:: How to associate engines.
813 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
814 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
815 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
816 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
817 * Window Layout:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
818 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
819 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
820 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
821 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
822 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
823 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
824 * Predicate Specifiers:: Specifying predicates.
825 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
826 * Image Enhancements:: Modern versions of Emacs/XEmacs can display images.
827 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
828 * Thwarting Email Spam:: Simple ways to avoid unsolicited commercial email.
829 * Spam Package:: A package for filtering and processing spam.
830 * The Gnus Registry:: A package for tracking messages by Message-ID.
831 * Other modes:: Interaction with other modes.
832 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
836 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
837 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
838 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
839 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
840 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
841 * Positioning Point:: Moving point to a position after an operation.
842 * Tabulation:: Tabulating your output.
843 * Wide Characters:: Dealing with wide characters.
847 * X-Face:: Display a funky, teensy black-and-white image.
848 * Face:: Display a funkier, teensier colored image.
849 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were
851 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what you're reading.
852 * Gravatars:: Display the avatar of people you read.
853 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
857 * The problem of spam:: Some background, and some solutions
858 * Anti-Spam Basics:: Simple steps to reduce the amount of spam.
859 * SpamAssassin:: How to use external anti-spam tools.
860 * Hashcash:: Reduce spam by burning CPU time.
864 * Spam Package Introduction::
865 * Filtering Incoming Mail::
866 * Detecting Spam in Groups::
867 * Spam and Ham Processors::
868 * Spam Package Configuration Examples::
870 * Extending the Spam package::
871 * Spam Statistics Package::
873 Spam Statistics Package
875 * Creating a spam-stat dictionary::
876 * Splitting mail using spam-stat::
877 * Low-level interface to the spam-stat dictionary::
881 * XEmacs:: Requirements for installing under XEmacs.
882 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
883 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
884 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
885 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
886 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
887 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
888 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
889 * Frequently Asked Questions:: The Gnus FAQ
893 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
894 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
895 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
896 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
897 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
898 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
899 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
900 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
904 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
905 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.2/5.3.
906 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
907 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
908 * Pterodactyl Gnus:: Pentad also starts with P, AKA Gnus 5.8/5.9.
909 * Oort Gnus:: It's big. It's far out. Gnus 5.10/5.11.
910 * No Gnus:: Very punny.
914 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
915 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
916 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
917 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
921 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
922 * Back End Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
923 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
924 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
925 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
926 * Group Info:: The group info format.
927 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
928 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
929 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
933 * Required Back End Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
934 * Optional Back End Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
935 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
936 * Writing New Back Ends:: Extending old back ends.
937 * Hooking New Back Ends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
938 * Mail-like Back Ends:: Some tips on mail back ends.
942 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
943 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
947 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
948 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
954 @chapter Starting Gnus
957 If you haven't used Emacs much before using Gnus, read @ref{Emacs for
962 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
963 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
964 your Emacs. If not, you should customize the variable
965 @code{gnus-select-method} as described in @ref{Finding the News}. For a
966 minimal setup for posting should also customize the variables
967 @code{user-full-name} and @code{user-mail-address}.
969 @findex gnus-other-frame
970 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
971 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
972 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
974 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
975 variables in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file. This file is similar to
976 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when Gnus starts.
978 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
979 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
982 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
983 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
984 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
985 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
986 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
987 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
988 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
989 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
990 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
994 @node Finding the News
995 @section Finding the News
998 First of all, you should know that there is a special buffer called
999 @code{*Server*} that lists all the servers Gnus knows about. You can
1000 press @kbd{^} from the Group buffer to see it. In the Server buffer,
1001 you can press @kbd{RET} on a defined server to see all the groups it
1002 serves (subscribed or not!). You can also add or delete servers, edit
1003 a foreign server's definition, agentize or de-agentize a server, and
1004 do many other neat things. @xref{Server Buffer}.
1005 @xref{Foreign Groups}. @xref{Agent Basics}.
1007 @vindex gnus-select-method
1009 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
1010 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
1011 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
1012 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
1013 secondary or foreign groups.
1015 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @acronym{NNTP} server is where
1016 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
1019 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
1022 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
1025 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
1028 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
1029 certainly be much faster. But do not use the local spool if your
1030 server is running Leafnode (which is a simple, standalone private news
1031 server); in this case, use @code{(nntp "localhost")}.
1033 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
1035 @cindex @acronym{NNTP} server
1036 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
1037 @env{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
1038 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
1039 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter.
1040 If that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs
1041 as an @acronym{NNTP} server. That's a long shot, though.
1043 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
1045 However, if you use one @acronym{NNTP} server regularly and are just
1046 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
1047 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
1048 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
1049 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
1050 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
1052 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
1054 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
1055 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
1056 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
1057 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
1058 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
1059 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
1062 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} back end to read your mail,
1063 you would typically set this variable to
1066 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
1069 Note: the @acronym{NNTP} back end stores marks in marks files
1070 (@pxref{NNTP marks}). This feature makes it easy to share marks between
1071 several Gnus installations, but may slow down things a bit when fetching
1072 new articles. @xref{NNTP marks}, for more information.
1075 @node The Server is Down
1076 @section The Server is Down
1077 @cindex server errors
1079 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1080 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1081 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1083 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1084 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1085 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1086 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1087 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1088 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1089 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1091 @findex gnus-no-server
1092 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1094 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1095 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1096 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1097 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1098 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1099 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1100 levels.) Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1104 @section Slave Gnusae
1107 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1108 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1109 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1110 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1112 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1113 @file{.newsrc} file.
1115 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1116 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1117 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1118 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1119 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1120 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1121 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1124 Anyway, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1125 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1126 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1127 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1128 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1129 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1130 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1131 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1133 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1134 information in the normal (i.e., master) @file{.newsrc} file.
1136 If the @file{.newsrc*} files have not been saved in the master when the
1137 slave starts, you may be prompted as to whether to read an auto-save
1138 file. If you answer ``yes'', the unsaved changes to the master will be
1139 incorporated into the slave. If you answer ``no'', the slave may see some
1140 messages as unread that have been read in the master.
1147 @cindex subscription
1149 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1150 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1151 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1152 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1153 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1154 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1155 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1156 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the back ends for new groups even
1157 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1160 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1161 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1162 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1166 @node Checking New Groups
1167 @subsection Checking New Groups
1169 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing
1170 the list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of
1171 subscribed and dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method.
1172 If @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will
1173 ask the server for new groups since the last time. This is both
1174 faster and cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list
1175 of killed groups (@pxref{Group Levels}) altogether, so you may set
1176 @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to @code{nil}, which will save time both
1177 at startup, at exit, and all over. Saves disk space, too. Why isn't
1178 this the default, then? Unfortunately, not all servers support this
1181 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1182 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1183 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1184 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1185 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1186 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1187 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1188 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1189 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1190 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1191 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1193 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1194 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1195 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1196 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1197 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1198 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1201 @node Subscription Methods
1202 @subsection Subscription Methods
1204 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1205 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1206 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1208 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1209 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1211 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1215 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1217 Make all new groups zombies (@pxref{Group Levels}). This is the
1218 default. You can browse the zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either
1219 kill them all off properly (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them
1222 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1223 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1224 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1225 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1227 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1228 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1229 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1231 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1232 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1233 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1234 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1235 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1236 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1237 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1238 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1239 up. Or something like that.
1241 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1242 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1243 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1244 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1245 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1247 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1248 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1249 Kill all new groups.
1251 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1252 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1253 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1254 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1255 topic parameter that looks like
1261 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1264 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1269 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1270 A closely related variable is
1271 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1272 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1273 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1274 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1277 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1278 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1279 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1280 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1283 @node Filtering New Groups
1284 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1286 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1287 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1288 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1291 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1294 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1295 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1296 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1297 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1298 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1299 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1300 subscribing these groups.
1301 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1302 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1304 The ``options -n'' format is very simplistic. The syntax above is all
1305 that is supports -- you can force-subscribe hierarchies, or you can
1306 deny hierarchies, and that's it.
1308 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1309 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1310 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1311 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1312 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1313 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1314 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1315 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1317 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1318 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1319 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1320 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous,
1321 but I thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is
1322 more meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is
1323 used more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new
1324 groups that come from mail back ends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1325 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, @code{nnmh}, @code{nnimap}, and
1326 @code{nnmaildir}) subscribed. If you don't like that, just set this
1327 variable to @code{nil}.
1329 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-categories
1330 As if that wasn't enough, @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-categories} also
1331 allows you to specify that new groups should be subscribed based on the
1332 category their select methods belong to. The default is @samp{(mail
1333 post-mail)}, meaning that all new groups from mail-like backends
1334 should be subscribed automatically.
1336 New groups that match these variables are subscribed using
1337 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1340 @node Changing Servers
1341 @section Changing Servers
1342 @cindex changing servers
1344 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another.
1345 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1346 very flaky and you want to use another.
1348 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1349 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1353 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1354 @acronym{NNTP} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1355 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1356 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1359 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1360 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1361 You can use the @kbd{M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups}
1362 command to clear out all data that you have on your native groups.
1365 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data
1366 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1367 Clear the data from the current group only---nix out marks and the
1368 list of read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1370 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1371 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1372 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1373 @code{gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} will ask you if you want
1374 to have it done automatically; for @code{gnus-group-clear-data}, you
1375 can use @kbd{M-x gnus-cache-move-cache} (but beware, it will move the
1376 cache for all groups).
1380 @section Startup Files
1381 @cindex startup files
1386 Most common Unix news readers use a shared startup file called
1387 @file{.newsrc}. This file contains all the information about what
1388 groups are subscribed, and which articles in these groups have been
1391 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1392 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1393 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1394 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1395 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1396 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1397 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1399 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1400 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1401 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1402 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1403 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1404 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1406 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1407 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1408 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1409 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1410 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1411 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1412 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1413 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1414 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which can be
1415 convenient if you use a different news reader occasionally, and you
1416 want to read a different subset of the available groups with that
1419 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1420 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1421 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1422 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1423 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1424 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1425 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1426 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1427 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1428 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1429 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1430 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1432 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1433 @vindex gnus-backup-startup-file
1434 @vindex version-control
1435 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1436 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1437 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1438 If you want to keep multiple numbered backups of this file, set
1439 @code{gnus-backup-startup-file}. It respects the same values as the
1440 @code{version-control} variable.
1442 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1443 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1444 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1445 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1446 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1447 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1448 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1449 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1450 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1451 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1454 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1455 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1457 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1458 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1461 @vindex gnus-init-file
1462 @vindex gnus-site-init-file
1463 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1464 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus-init} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1465 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1466 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1467 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1468 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1469 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1470 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1471 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order). If Emacs was invoked with
1472 the @option{-q} or @option{--no-init-file} options (@pxref{Initial
1473 Options, ,Initial Options, emacs, The Emacs Manual}), Gnus doesn't read
1474 @code{gnus-init-file}.
1479 @cindex dribble file
1482 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1483 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1484 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1485 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1486 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1489 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1490 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1493 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1494 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1495 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1497 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1498 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1499 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1500 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1501 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1502 file permissions as the @file{.newsrc} file.
1504 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1505 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1506 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1509 @node The Active File
1510 @section The Active File
1512 @cindex ignored groups
1514 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1515 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1516 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1518 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1519 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1520 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1521 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1522 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1523 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1524 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1527 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1528 @c if you set it to anything else.
1530 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1532 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1533 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1534 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1536 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1537 you actually subscribe to.
1539 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1540 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1541 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1542 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1544 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1545 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1546 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1547 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1548 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1549 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1551 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1552 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1553 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1556 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1557 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1558 @acronym{NNTP} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1559 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1560 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1561 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1563 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1564 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1566 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1567 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1569 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1570 secondary select methods.
1573 @node Startup Variables
1574 @section Startup Variables
1578 @item gnus-load-hook
1579 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1580 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1581 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1582 times you start Gnus.
1584 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1585 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1586 A hook called as the first thing when Gnus is started.
1588 @item gnus-startup-hook
1589 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1590 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1592 @item gnus-started-hook
1593 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1594 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1597 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1598 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1599 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1600 generating the group buffer.
1602 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1603 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1604 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1605 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1606 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1607 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1608 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1609 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1611 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1612 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1613 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1614 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1615 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1616 @file{~/.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @file{.emacs} instead.
1618 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1619 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1620 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1622 @item gnus-use-backend-marks
1623 @vindex gnus-use-backend-marks
1624 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will store article marks both in the
1625 @file{.newsrc.eld} file and in the backends. This will slow down
1626 group operation some.
1632 @chapter Group Buffer
1633 @cindex group buffer
1635 @c Alex Schroeder suggests to rearrange this as follows:
1637 @c <kensanata> ok, just save it for reference. I'll go to bed in a minute.
1638 @c 1. Selecting a Group, 2. (new) Finding a Group, 3. Group Levels,
1639 @c 4. Subscription Commands, 5. Group Maneuvering, 6. Group Data,
1640 @c 7. Group Score, 8. Group Buffer Format
1641 @c <kensanata> Group Levels should have more information on levels 5 to 9. I
1642 @c suggest to split the 4th paragraph ("Gnus considers groups...") as follows:
1643 @c <kensanata> First, "Gnus considers groups... (default 9)."
1644 @c <kensanata> New, a table summarizing what levels 1 to 9 mean.
1645 @c <kensanata> Third, "Gnus treats subscribed ... reasons of efficiency"
1646 @c <kensanata> Then expand the next paragraph or add some more to it.
1647 @c This short one sentence explains levels 1 and 2, therefore I understand
1648 @c that I should keep important news at 3 and boring news at 4.
1649 @c Say so! Then go on to explain why I should bother with levels 6 to 9.
1650 @c Maybe keep those that you don't want to read temporarily at 6,
1651 @c those that you never want to read at 8, those that offend your
1652 @c human rights at 9...
1655 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1656 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1657 long as Gnus is active.
1661 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1662 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group,height=9cm}}
1663 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1664 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1665 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1666 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1667 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1668 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1674 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1675 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1676 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1677 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1678 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1679 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1680 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1681 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1682 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1683 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1684 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1685 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1686 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1687 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1688 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1689 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1690 * Non-ASCII Group Names:: Accessing groups of non-English names.
1691 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1695 @node Group Buffer Format
1696 @section Group Buffer Format
1699 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1700 * Group Mode Line Specification:: The group buffer mode line.
1701 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1704 You can customize the Group Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
1705 customize-apropos RET gnus-group-tool-bar}. This feature is only
1708 The tool bar icons are now (de)activated correctly depending on the
1709 cursor position. Therefore, moving around in the Group Buffer is
1710 slower. You can disable this via the variable
1711 @code{gnus-group-update-tool-bar}. Its default value depends on your
1714 @node Group Line Specification
1715 @subsection Group Line Specification
1716 @cindex group buffer format
1718 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1719 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1721 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1724 25: news.announce.newusers
1725 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1730 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1731 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1732 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1733 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1735 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1736 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1737 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1738 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1739 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1740 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1742 @samp{%M%S%5y:%B%(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1744 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1745 the colon after performing an operation. @xref{Positioning
1746 Point}. Nothing else is required---not even the group name. All
1747 displayed text is just window dressing, and is never examined by Gnus.
1748 Gnus stores all real information it needs using text properties.
1750 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1751 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1752 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1754 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1759 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1762 Whether the group is subscribed.
1765 Level of subscribedness.
1768 Number of unread articles.
1771 Number of dormant articles.
1774 Number of ticked articles.
1777 Number of read articles.
1780 Number of unseen articles.
1783 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1784 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1786 Gnus uses this estimation because the @acronym{NNTP} protocol provides
1787 efficient access to @var{max-number} and @var{min-number} but getting
1788 the true unread message count is not possible efficiently. For
1789 hysterical raisins, even the mail back ends, where the true number of
1790 unread messages might be available efficiently, use the same limited
1791 interface. To remove this restriction from Gnus means that the back
1792 end interface has to be changed, which is not an easy job.
1794 The nnml backend (@pxref{Mail Spool}) has a feature called ``group
1795 compaction'' which circumvents this deficiency: the idea is to
1796 renumber all articles from 1, removing all gaps between numbers, hence
1797 getting a correct total count. Other backends may support this in the
1798 future. In order to keep your total article count relatively up to
1799 date, you might want to compact your groups (or even directly your
1800 server) from time to time. @xref{Misc Group Stuff}, @xref{Server Commands}.
1803 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1806 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1815 Group comment (@pxref{Group Parameters}) or group name if there is no
1816 comment element in the group parameters.
1819 Newsgroup description. You need to read the group descriptions
1820 before these will appear, and to do that, you either have to set
1821 @code{gnus-read-active-file} or use the group buffer @kbd{M-d}
1825 @samp{m} if moderated.
1828 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1834 If the summary buffer for the group is open or not.
1840 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1844 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1847 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1848 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1849 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1850 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1851 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1854 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1856 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1860 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1863 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1867 The disk space used by the articles fetched by both the cache and
1868 agent. The value is automatically scaled to bytes(B), kilobytes(K),
1869 megabytes(M), or gigabytes(G) to minimize the column width. A format
1870 of %7F is sufficient for a fixed-width column.
1873 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1874 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1875 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1876 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1877 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1878 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1883 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1884 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1885 group, or a bogus native group.
1888 @node Group Mode Line Specification
1889 @subsection Group Mode Line Specification
1890 @cindex group mode line
1892 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1893 The mode line can be changed by setting
1894 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1895 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1899 The native news server.
1901 The native select method.
1905 @node Group Highlighting
1906 @subsection Group Highlighting
1907 @cindex highlighting
1908 @cindex group highlighting
1910 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1911 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1912 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1913 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1914 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1916 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1920 (cond (window-system
1921 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1922 (defface my-group-face-1
1923 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1924 (defface my-group-face-2
1925 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t)))
1926 "Second group face")
1927 (defface my-group-face-3
1928 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1929 (defface my-group-face-4
1930 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1931 (defface my-group-face-5
1932 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1934 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1935 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1936 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1937 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1938 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1939 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1942 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1944 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1951 The number of unread articles in the group.
1955 Whether the group is a mail group.
1957 The level of the group.
1959 The score of the group.
1961 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1963 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather,
1964 @var{max-number} minus @var{min-number} plus one.
1966 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1967 topic being inserted.
1970 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1971 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1972 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1974 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1975 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1976 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1977 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
1980 @node Group Maneuvering
1981 @section Group Maneuvering
1982 @cindex group movement
1984 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1985 expected, hopefully.
1991 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1992 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1993 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1999 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
2000 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
2001 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
2005 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2006 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2010 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2011 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2015 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
2016 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
2017 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
2021 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
2022 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
2023 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
2026 Three commands for jumping to groups:
2032 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
2033 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
2034 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
2039 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
2040 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
2041 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
2045 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
2046 Jump to the first group with unread articles
2047 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
2050 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
2051 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
2052 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
2053 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
2056 @vindex gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit
2057 If @code{gnus-summary-next-group-on-exit} is @code{t}, when a summary is
2058 exited, the point in the group buffer is moved to the next unread group.
2059 Otherwise, the point is set to the group just exited. The default is
2062 @node Selecting a Group
2063 @section Selecting a Group
2064 @cindex group selection
2069 @kindex SPACE (Group)
2070 @findex gnus-group-read-group
2071 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
2072 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
2073 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
2074 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
2075 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{n}, @var{n}
2076 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{n} is
2077 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{n} newest articles, if @var{n} is
2078 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{n})} oldest articles.
2080 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
2081 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
2082 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
2084 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
2085 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
2090 @findex gnus-group-select-group
2091 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
2092 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
2093 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
2094 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
2098 @kindex M-RET (Group)
2099 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
2100 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
2101 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
2102 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
2103 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
2104 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
2105 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
2106 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
2107 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
2110 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
2111 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
2112 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
2113 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
2114 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
2117 @kindex C-M-RET (Group)
2118 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
2119 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
2120 doing any processing of its contents
2121 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
2122 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
2123 manner will have no permanent effects.
2127 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
2128 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should
2129 consider to be a big group. If it is @code{nil}, no groups are
2130 considered big. The default value is 200. If the group has more
2131 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
2132 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many
2133 articles should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a
2134 negative number (@var{-n}), the @var{n} oldest articles will be
2135 fetched. If it is positive, the @var{n} articles that have arrived
2136 most recently will be fetched.
2138 @vindex gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup
2139 @code{gnus-large-ephemeral-newsgroup} is the same as
2140 @code{gnus-large-newsgroup}, but is only used for ephemeral
2143 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles
2144 In groups in some news servers, there might be a big gap between a few
2145 very old articles that will never be expired and the recent ones. In
2146 such a case, the server will return the data like @code{(1 . 30000000)}
2147 for the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, for example. Even if there
2148 are actually only the articles 1-10 and 29999900-30000000, Gnus doesn't
2149 know it at first and prepares for getting 30000000 articles. However,
2150 it will consume hundreds megabytes of memories and might make Emacs get
2151 stuck as the case may be. If you use such news servers, set the
2152 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} to a positive number.
2153 The value means that Gnus ignores articles other than this number of the
2154 latest ones in every group. For instance, the value 10000 makes Gnus
2155 get only the articles 29990001-30000000 (if the latest article number is
2156 30000000 in a group). Note that setting this variable to a number might
2157 prevent you from reading very old articles. The default value of the
2158 variable @code{gnus-newsgroup-maximum-articles} is @code{nil}, which
2159 means Gnus never ignores old articles.
2161 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2162 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2163 @vindex gnus-auto-select-subject
2164 If @code{gnus-auto-select-first} is non-@code{nil}, select an article
2165 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2166 Which article this is controlled by the
2167 @code{gnus-auto-select-subject} variable. Valid values for this
2173 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article.
2176 Place point on the subject line of the first article.
2179 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article.
2181 @item unseen-or-unread
2182 Place point on the subject line of the first unseen article, and if
2183 there is no such article, place point on the subject line of the first
2187 Place point on the subject line of the highest-scored unread article.
2191 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function
2192 will be called to place point on a subject line.
2194 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2195 binary group with Huge articles) you can set the
2196 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} variable to @code{nil} in
2197 @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2201 @node Subscription Commands
2202 @section Subscription Commands
2203 @cindex subscription
2205 The following commands allow for managing your subscriptions in the
2206 Group buffer. If you want to subscribe to many groups, it's probably
2207 more convenient to go to the @ref{Server Buffer}, and choose the
2208 server there using @kbd{RET} or @kbd{SPC}. Then you'll have the
2209 commands listed in @ref{Browse Foreign Server} at hand.
2217 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2218 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2219 Toggle subscription to the current group
2220 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2226 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2227 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2228 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2229 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2236 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2237 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2243 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2244 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2247 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2248 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2249 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2250 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2251 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2257 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2258 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2262 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2263 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2266 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2267 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2268 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2269 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2270 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2271 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2272 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2273 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2274 @file{.newsrc} file.
2278 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2288 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2289 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2290 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2291 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2292 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2293 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2298 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2299 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2300 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2304 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2305 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2306 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2308 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2309 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2310 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2311 If you have switched from one @acronym{NNTP} server to another, all your marks
2312 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2313 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2320 @section Group Levels
2324 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2325 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2326 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2327 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2328 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2330 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2336 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2337 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2338 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2339 prompted for a level.
2342 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2343 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2344 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2345 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2346 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2347 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2348 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2349 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2350 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2351 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2352 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2353 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2354 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2355 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2356 reasons of efficiency.
2358 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2359 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2361 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2362 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2363 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2364 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2365 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2366 groups are hidden, in a way.
2368 @cindex zombie groups
2369 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2370 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2371 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2372 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2373 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2374 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2376 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2377 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2378 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2379 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2380 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2381 list of killed groups.)
2383 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2384 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2385 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2387 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2388 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2389 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2390 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2391 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2392 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2393 relevant valid ranges.
2395 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2396 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2397 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2398 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2399 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2400 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2403 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2404 one with the best level.
2406 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2407 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2408 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2410 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2411 be called and the result will be used as value.
2414 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2415 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2416 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2417 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2420 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2421 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2422 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2423 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2425 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2426 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2427 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2428 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2429 to 5. The default is 6.
2433 @section Group Score
2438 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2439 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2440 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2443 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2444 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2445 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2446 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2447 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2448 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2449 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2450 least significant part.))
2452 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2453 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2454 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2455 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2456 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2457 action after each summary exit, you can add
2458 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2459 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2460 slow things down somewhat.
2463 @node Marking Groups
2464 @section Marking Groups
2465 @cindex marking groups
2467 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2468 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2469 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2470 bidding on those groups.
2472 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2473 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2474 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2482 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2483 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2489 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2490 Remove the mark from the current group
2491 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2495 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2496 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2500 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2501 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2505 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2506 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2510 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2511 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2512 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2515 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2517 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2518 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2519 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2520 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2521 the command to be executed.
2524 @node Foreign Groups
2525 @section Foreign Groups
2526 @cindex foreign groups
2528 If you recall how to subscribe to servers (@pxref{Finding the News})
2529 you will remember that @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} and
2530 @code{gnus-select-method} let you write a definition in Emacs Lisp of
2531 what servers you want to see when you start up. The alternate
2532 approach is to use foreign servers and groups. ``Foreign'' here means
2533 they are not coming from the select methods. All foreign server
2534 configuration and subscriptions are stored only in the
2535 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} file.
2537 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2538 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2539 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2540 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2543 Changes from the group editing commands are stored in
2544 @file{~/.newsrc.eld} (@code{gnus-startup-file}). An alternative is the
2545 variable @code{gnus-parameters}, @xref{Group Parameters}.
2551 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2552 @cindex making groups
2553 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2554 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2555 to subscribe to @acronym{NNTP} groups (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
2559 @findex gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group
2560 Make an ephemeral group (@code{gnus-group-read-ephemeral-group}). Gnus
2561 will prompt you for a name, a method and an @dfn{address}.
2565 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2566 @cindex renaming groups
2567 Rename the current group to something else
2568 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2569 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2575 @findex gnus-group-customize
2576 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2580 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2581 @cindex renaming groups
2582 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2583 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2587 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2588 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2589 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2593 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2594 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2595 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2599 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2601 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2602 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2607 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2608 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2612 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2614 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2615 @code{nneething} back end (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2616 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2620 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2621 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2623 Make a group based on some file or other
2624 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2625 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2626 Currently supported types are @code{mbox}, @code{babyl},
2627 @code{digest}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward},
2628 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts},
2629 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs},
2630 @code{nsmail}, @code{outlook}, @code{oe-dbx}, and @code{mailman}. If
2631 you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2632 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2636 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2637 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2638 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2639 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2643 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2647 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2648 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2649 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2650 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2651 include @code{google}, @code{dejanews}, and @code{gmane}.
2652 @xref{Web Searches}.
2654 If you use the @code{google} search engine, you can limit the search
2655 to a particular group by using a match string like
2656 @samp{shaving group:alt.sysadmin.recovery}.
2660 @findex gnus-group-make-rss-group
2661 Make a group based on an @acronym{RSS} feed
2662 (@code{gnus-group-make-rss-group}). You will be prompted for an URL.
2666 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2667 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2668 This function will delete the current group
2669 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2670 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2671 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2672 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2673 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} groups), though.
2677 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2678 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2679 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2683 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2684 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2685 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2688 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2691 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2692 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2693 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2694 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2695 groups from different @acronym{NNTP} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2696 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2700 The following commands create ephemeral groups. They can be called not
2701 only from the Group buffer, but in any Gnus buffer.
2704 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2705 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group
2706 @vindex gnus-gmane-group-download-format
2707 Read an ephemeral group on Gmane.org. The articles are downloaded via
2708 HTTP using the URL specified by @code{gnus-gmane-group-download-format}.
2709 Gnus will prompt you for a group name, the start article number and an
2712 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2713 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group-url
2714 This command is similar to @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-gmane-group}, but
2715 the group name and the article number and range are constructed from a
2716 given @acronym{URL}. Supported @acronym{URL} formats include e.g.
2717 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12300/focus=12399},
2718 @url{http://thread.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2719 @url{http://article.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/},
2720 @url{http://permalink.gmane.org/gmane.foo.bar/12345/}, and
2721 @url{http://news.gmane.org/group/gmane.foo.bar/thread=12345}.
2723 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2724 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group
2725 Read an Emacs bug report in an ephemeral group. Gnus will prompt for a
2726 bug number. The default is the number at point. The @acronym{URL} is
2727 specified in @code{gnus-bug-group-download-format-alist}.
2729 @item gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2730 @findex gnus-read-ephemeral-debian-bug-group
2731 Read a Debian bug report in an ephemeral group. Analog to
2732 @code{gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group}.
2735 Some of these command are also useful for article buttons, @xref{Article
2743 '("#\\([0-9]+\\)\\>" 1
2744 (string-match "\\<emacs\\>" (or gnus-newsgroup-name ""))
2745 gnus-read-ephemeral-emacs-bug-group 1))
2749 @node Group Parameters
2750 @section Group Parameters
2751 @cindex group parameters
2753 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2755 Use the @kbd{G p} or the @kbd{G c} command to edit group parameters of a
2756 group. (@kbd{G p} presents you with a Lisp-based interface, @kbd{G c}
2757 presents you with a Customize-like interface. The latter helps avoid
2758 silly Lisp errors.) You might also be interested in reading about topic
2759 parameters (@pxref{Topic Parameters}).
2760 Additionally, you can set group parameters via the
2761 @code{gnus-parameters} variable, see below.
2763 Here's an example group parameter list:
2766 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2770 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing before
2771 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2772 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2773 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2775 Some parameters have correspondent customizable variables, each of which
2776 is an alist of regexps and values.
2778 The following group parameters can be used:
2783 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2786 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2789 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2790 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2791 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2792 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2793 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2795 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2796 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2797 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2798 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2799 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2800 list address instead.
2802 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-address-alist}.
2806 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2809 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2812 It is totally ignored
2813 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2814 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2816 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2817 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2818 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2819 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2820 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2822 @findex gnus-mailing-list-mode
2823 @cindex mail list groups
2824 If this variable is set, @code{gnus-mailing-list-mode} is turned on when
2825 entering summary buffer.
2827 See also @code{gnus-parameter-to-list-alist}.
2832 @cindex Mail-Followup-To
2833 @findex gnus-find-subscribed-addresses
2834 If this parameter is set to @code{t}, Gnus will consider the
2835 to-address and to-list parameters for this group as addresses of
2836 mailing lists you are subscribed to. Giving Gnus this information is
2837 (only) a first step in getting it to generate correct Mail-Followup-To
2838 headers for your posts to these lists. The second step is to put the
2839 following in your @file{.gnus.el}
2842 (setq message-subscribed-address-functions
2843 '(gnus-find-subscribed-addresses))
2846 @xref{Mailing Lists, ,Mailing Lists, message, The Message Manual}, for
2847 a complete treatment of available MFT support.
2851 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2852 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2853 of whether it has any unread articles.
2855 This parameter cannot be set via @code{gnus-parameters}. See
2856 @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.
2858 @item broken-reply-to
2859 @cindex broken-reply-to
2860 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2861 headers in this group are to be ignored, and for the header to be hidden
2862 if @code{reply-to} is part of @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}. This
2863 can be useful if you're reading a mailing list group where the listserv
2864 has inserted @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv
2865 itself. That is broken behavior. So there!
2869 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2870 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2874 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2875 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2876 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2881 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2882 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2883 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2884 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2885 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2886 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2887 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2889 @strong{Caveat}: Adding @code{(gcc-self . t)} to the parameter list of
2890 @code{nntp} groups (or the like) isn't valid. An @code{nntp} server
2891 doesn't accept articles.
2895 @cindex expiring mail
2896 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2897 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2898 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2900 See also @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups}.
2903 @cindex total-expire
2904 @cindex expiring mail
2905 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2906 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2907 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2908 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2911 See also @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups}.
2915 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2916 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2917 @code{(expiry-wait . 10)}, this value will override any
2918 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function}
2919 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}) when expiring expirable messages. The value
2920 can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or the
2921 symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2924 @cindex expiry-target
2925 Where expired messages end up. This parameter overrides
2926 @code{nnmail-expiry-target}.
2929 @cindex score file group parameter
2930 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2931 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2932 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2935 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2936 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2937 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2938 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2941 @cindex admin-address
2942 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2943 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2944 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2945 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2949 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2950 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2954 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2957 Display the last @var{integer} articles in the group. This is the same as
2958 entering the group with @kbd{C-u @var{integer}}.
2961 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2965 Display articles that satisfy a predicate.
2967 Here are some examples:
2971 Display only unread articles.
2974 Display everything except expirable articles.
2976 @item [and (not reply) (not expire)]
2977 Display everything except expirable and articles you've already
2981 The available operators are @code{not}, @code{and} and @code{or}.
2982 Predicates include @code{tick}, @code{unsend}, @code{undownload},
2983 @code{unread}, @code{dormant}, @code{expire}, @code{reply},
2984 @code{killed}, @code{bookmark}, @code{score}, @code{save},
2985 @code{cache}, @code{forward}, and @code{unseen}.
2989 The @code{display} parameter works by limiting the summary buffer to
2990 the subset specified. You can pop the limit by using the @kbd{/ w}
2991 command (@pxref{Limiting}).
2995 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2996 arbitrary comments on the group. You can display comments in the
2997 group line (@pxref{Group Line Specification}).
3001 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
3002 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
3003 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
3005 See also @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}.
3007 @item ignored-charsets
3008 @cindex ignored-charset
3009 Elements that look like @code{(ignored-charsets x-unknown iso-8859-1)}
3010 will make @code{iso-8859-1} and @code{x-unknown} ignored; that is, the
3011 default charset will be used for decoding articles.
3013 See also @code{gnus-group-ignored-charsets-alist}.
3016 @cindex posting-style
3017 You can store additional posting style information for this group
3018 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
3019 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
3020 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
3021 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
3023 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
3024 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
3025 like this in the group parameters:
3030 ("X-My-Header" "Funky Value")
3031 (signature "Funky Signature"))
3034 If you're using topics to organize your group buffer
3035 (@pxref{Group Topics}), note that posting styles can also be set in
3036 the topics parameters. Posting styles in topic parameters apply to all
3037 groups in this topic. More precisely, the posting-style settings for a
3038 group result from the hierarchical merging of all posting-style
3039 entries in the parameters of this group and all the topics it belongs
3045 If it is set, the value is used as the method for posting message
3046 instead of @code{gnus-post-method}.
3050 If it is set, and the setting of @code{mail-sources} includes a
3051 @code{group} mail source (@pxref{Mail Sources}), the value is a
3052 mail source for this group.
3056 An item like @code{(banner . @var{regexp})} causes any part of an article
3057 that matches the regular expression @var{regexp} to be stripped. Instead of
3058 @var{regexp}, you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
3059 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
3060 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
3064 This parameter contains a Sieve test that should match incoming mail
3065 that should be placed in this group. From this group parameter, a
3066 Sieve @samp{IF} control structure is generated, having the test as the
3067 condition and @samp{fileinto "group.name";} as the body.
3069 For example, if the @samp{INBOX.list.sieve} group has the @code{(sieve
3070 address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com")} group parameter, when
3071 translating the group parameter into a Sieve script (@pxref{Sieve
3072 Commands}) the following Sieve code is generated:
3075 if address "sender" "sieve-admin@@extundo.com" @{
3076 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3080 To generate tests for multiple email-addresses use a group parameter
3081 like @code{(sieve address "sender" ("name@@one.org" else@@two.org"))}.
3082 When generating a sieve script (@pxref{Sieve Commands}) Sieve code
3083 like the following is generated:
3086 if address "sender" ["name@@one.org", "else@@two.org"] @{
3087 fileinto "INBOX.list.sieve";
3091 See @pxref{Sieve Commands} for commands and variables that might be of
3092 interest in relation to the sieve parameter.
3094 The Sieve language is described in RFC 3028. @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve,
3095 Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
3097 @item (agent parameters)
3098 If the agent has been enabled, you can set any of its parameters to
3099 control the behavior of the agent in individual groups. See Agent
3100 Parameters in @ref{Category Syntax}. Most users will choose to set
3101 agent parameters in either an agent category or group topic to
3102 minimize the configuration effort.
3104 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
3105 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
3106 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
3107 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
3108 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
3109 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
3110 @code{eval}ed there.
3112 Note that this feature sets the variable locally to the summary buffer
3113 if and only if @var{variable} has been bound as a variable. Otherwise,
3114 only evaluating the form will take place. So, you may want to bind the
3115 variable in advance using @code{defvar} or other if the result of the
3116 form needs to be set to it.
3118 But some variables are evaluated in the article buffer, or in the
3119 message buffer (of a reply or followup or otherwise newly created
3120 message). As a workaround, it might help to add the variable in
3121 question to @code{gnus-newsgroup-variables}. @xref{Various Summary
3122 Stuff}. So if you want to set @code{message-from-style} via the group
3123 parameters, then you may need the following statement elsewhere in your
3124 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3127 (add-to-list 'gnus-newsgroup-variables 'message-from-style)
3130 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
3131 A use for this feature is to remove a mailing list identifier tag in
3132 the subject fields of articles. E.g. if the news group
3135 nntp+news.gnus.org:gmane.text.docbook.apps
3138 has the tag @samp{DOC-BOOK-APPS:} in the subject of all articles, this
3139 tag can be removed from the article subjects in the summary buffer for
3140 the group by putting @code{(gnus-list-identifiers "DOCBOOK-APPS:")}
3141 into the group parameters for the group.
3143 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function. If you want to
3144 hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put something like
3145 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group. If
3146 @code{dummy-variable} has been bound (see above), it will be set to the
3147 (meaningless) result of the @code{(ding)} form.
3149 Alternatively, since the VARIABLE becomes local to the group, this
3150 pattern can be used to temporarily change a hook. For example, if the
3151 following is added to a group parameter
3154 (gnus-summary-prepared-hook
3155 '(lambda nil (local-set-key "d" (local-key-binding "n"))))
3158 when the group is entered, the 'd' key will not mark the article as
3163 @vindex gnus-parameters
3164 Group parameters can be set via the @code{gnus-parameters} variable too.
3165 But some variables, such as @code{visible}, have no effect (For this
3166 case see @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} as an alternative.).
3170 (setq gnus-parameters
3172 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3173 (gnus-use-scoring nil)
3174 (gnus-summary-line-format
3175 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%d:%ub%-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
3179 ("^nnimap:\\(foo.bar\\)$"
3183 (gnus-use-scoring t))
3187 (broken-reply-to . t))))
3190 All clauses that matches the group name will be used, but the last
3191 setting ``wins''. So if you have two clauses that both match the
3192 group name, and both set, say @code{display}, the last setting will
3195 Parameters that are strings will be subjected to regexp substitution,
3196 as the @code{to-group} example shows.
3198 @vindex gnus-parameters-case-fold-search
3199 By default, whether comparing the group name and one of those regexps
3200 specified in @code{gnus-parameters} is done in a case-sensitive manner
3201 or a case-insensitive manner depends on the value of
3202 @code{case-fold-search} at the time when the comparison is done. The
3203 value of @code{case-fold-search} is typically @code{t}; it means, for
3204 example, the element @code{("INBOX\\.FOO" (total-expire . t))} might be
3205 applied to both the @samp{INBOX.FOO} group and the @samp{INBOX.foo}
3206 group. If you want to make those regexps always case-sensitive, set the
3207 value of the @code{gnus-parameters-case-fold-search} variable to
3208 @code{nil}. Otherwise, set it to @code{t} if you want to compare them
3209 always in a case-insensitive manner.
3211 You can define different sorting to different groups via
3212 @code{gnus-parameters}. Here is an example to sort an @acronym{NNTP}
3213 group by reverse date to see the latest news at the top and an
3214 @acronym{RSS} group by subject. In this example, the first group is the
3215 Debian daily news group @code{gmane.linux.debian.user.news} from
3216 news.gmane.org. The @acronym{RSS} group corresponds to the Debian
3217 weekly news RSS feed
3218 @url{http://packages.debian.org/unstable/newpkg_main.en.rdf},
3224 '(("nntp.*gmane\\.debian\\.user\\.news"
3225 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3226 (gnus-article-sort-functions '((not gnus-article-sort-by-date)))
3227 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3228 (gnus-use-scoring nil))
3230 (gnus-show-threads nil)
3231 (gnus-article-sort-functions 'gnus-article-sort-by-subject)
3232 (gnus-use-adaptive-scoring nil)
3233 (gnus-use-scoring t)
3234 (gnus-score-find-score-files-function 'gnus-score-find-single)
3235 (gnus-summary-line-format "%U%R%z%d %I%(%[ %s %]%)\n"))))
3239 @node Listing Groups
3240 @section Listing Groups
3241 @cindex group listing
3243 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
3251 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
3252 List all groups that have unread articles
3253 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
3254 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
3255 only lists groups of level five (i.e.,
3256 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
3263 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
3264 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
3265 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
3266 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
3267 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
3268 unsubscribed groups).
3272 @findex gnus-group-list-level
3273 List all unread groups on a specific level
3274 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
3275 with no unread articles.
3279 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
3280 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
3281 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
3282 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
3287 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
3288 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
3292 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
3293 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
3294 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
3298 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
3299 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
3303 @findex gnus-group-list-active
3304 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
3305 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
3306 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
3307 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
3308 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
3309 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
3310 Take the output with some grains of salt.
3314 @findex gnus-group-apropos
3315 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
3316 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
3320 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
3321 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
3322 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
3326 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
3327 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
3331 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
3332 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
3336 @findex gnus-group-list-ticked
3337 List all groups with ticked articles (@code{gnus-group-list-ticked}).
3341 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
3342 Further limit groups within the current selection
3343 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}). If you've first limited to groups
3344 with dormant articles with @kbd{A ?}, you can then further limit with
3345 @kbd{A / c}, which will then limit to groups with cached articles,
3346 giving you the groups that have both dormant articles and cached
3351 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
3352 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
3356 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
3357 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
3361 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3362 @cindex visible group parameter
3363 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
3364 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
3365 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
3366 get the same effect.
3368 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
3369 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
3370 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
3371 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
3372 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
3375 @node Sorting Groups
3376 @section Sorting Groups
3377 @cindex sorting groups
3379 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
3380 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
3381 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
3382 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
3383 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
3384 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
3389 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3390 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
3391 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
3393 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3394 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
3395 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
3397 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
3398 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
3399 Sort by group level.
3401 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
3402 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
3403 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
3405 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3406 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
3407 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
3408 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
3410 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3411 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
3412 Sort by number of unread articles.
3414 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
3415 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
3416 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
3418 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
3419 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
3420 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
3425 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
3426 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
3430 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
3431 some sorting criteria:
3435 @kindex G S a (Group)
3436 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3437 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
3438 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3441 @kindex G S u (Group)
3442 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
3443 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
3444 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3447 @kindex G S l (Group)
3448 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
3449 Sort the group buffer by group level
3450 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
3453 @kindex G S v (Group)
3454 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
3455 Sort the group buffer by group score
3456 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3459 @kindex G S r (Group)
3460 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
3461 Sort the group buffer by group rank
3462 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3465 @kindex G S m (Group)
3466 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
3467 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by back end name@*
3468 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
3471 @kindex G S n (Group)
3472 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name
3473 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3474 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-real-name}).
3478 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
3479 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3481 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
3482 commands will sort in reverse order.
3484 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
3488 @kindex G P a (Group)
3489 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
3490 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
3491 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
3494 @kindex G P u (Group)
3495 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
3496 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
3497 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
3500 @kindex G P l (Group)
3501 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
3502 Sort the groups by group level
3503 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
3506 @kindex G P v (Group)
3507 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
3508 Sort the groups by group score
3509 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3512 @kindex G P r (Group)
3513 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
3514 Sort the groups by group rank
3515 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3518 @kindex G P m (Group)
3519 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3520 Sort the groups alphabetically by back end name@*
3521 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3524 @kindex G P n (Group)
3525 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name
3526 Sort the groups alphabetically by real (unprefixed) group name
3527 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-real-name}).
3530 @kindex G P s (Group)
3531 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups
3532 Sort the groups according to @code{gnus-group-sort-function}.
3536 And finally, note that you can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} to manually
3540 @node Group Maintenance
3541 @section Group Maintenance
3542 @cindex bogus groups
3547 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3548 Find bogus groups and delete them
3549 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3553 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3554 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3555 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3556 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3557 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3561 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3562 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3563 @cindex expiring mail
3564 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3565 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}). That is, delete
3566 all expirable articles in the group that have been around for a while.
3567 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3570 @kindex C-c C-M-x (Group)
3571 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3572 @cindex expiring mail
3573 Run all expirable articles in all groups through the expiry process
3574 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3579 @node Browse Foreign Server
3580 @section Browse Foreign Server
3581 @cindex foreign servers
3582 @cindex browsing servers
3587 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3588 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3589 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3590 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3593 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3594 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3595 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3596 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3598 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3603 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3604 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3608 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3609 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3612 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3613 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3614 Enter the current group and display the first article
3615 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3618 @kindex RET (Browse)
3619 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3620 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3624 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3625 @vindex gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method
3626 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3627 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}). You
3628 can affect the way the new group is entered into the Group buffer
3629 using the variable @code{gnus-browse-subscribe-newsgroup-method}. See
3630 @pxref{Subscription Methods} for available options.
3636 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3637 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3641 @findex gnus-browse-describe-group
3642 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-browse-describe-group}).
3646 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3647 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3648 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3653 @section Exiting Gnus
3654 @cindex exiting Gnus
3656 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3661 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3662 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3663 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3664 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3668 @findex gnus-group-exit
3669 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3670 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3674 @findex gnus-group-quit
3675 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3676 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3679 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3680 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3681 @vindex gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook
3682 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3683 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3684 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3690 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3691 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3692 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3698 @section Group Topics
3701 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3702 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3703 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3704 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3705 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3706 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3710 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3711 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=ps/group-topic,height=9cm}}
3722 2: alt.religion.emacs
3725 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3727 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3728 13: comp.sources.unix
3731 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3733 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3734 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3735 is a toggling command.)
3737 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3738 dum@dots{} Nice tune, that@dots{} la la la@dots{} What, you're back?
3739 Yes, and now press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed
3740 under @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy?
3743 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3744 the hook for the group mode. Put the following line in your
3745 @file{~/.gnus.el} file:
3748 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3752 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3753 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3754 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3755 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3756 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3760 @node Topic Commands
3761 @subsection Topic Commands
3762 @cindex topic commands
3764 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3765 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3766 definitions slightly.
3768 In general, the following kinds of operations are possible on topics.
3769 First of all, you want to create topics. Secondly, you want to put
3770 groups in topics and to move them around until you have an order you
3771 like. The third kind of operation is to show/hide parts of the whole
3772 shebang. You might want to hide a topic including its subtopics and
3773 groups, to get a better overview of the other groups.
3775 Here is a list of the basic keys that you might need to set up topics
3782 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3783 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3784 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3788 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3790 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3791 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3792 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3793 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3796 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3797 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3798 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3799 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3803 The following two keys can be used to move groups and topics around.
3804 They work like the well-known cut and paste. @kbd{C-k} is like cut and
3805 @kbd{C-y} is like paste. Of course, this being Emacs, we use the terms
3806 kill and yank rather than cut and paste.
3812 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3813 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3814 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3818 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3819 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3820 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3823 So, to move a topic to the beginning of the list of topics, just hit
3824 @kbd{C-k} on it. This is like the ``cut'' part of cut and paste. Then,
3825 move the cursor to the beginning of the buffer (just below the ``Gnus''
3826 topic) and hit @kbd{C-y}. This is like the ``paste'' part of cut and
3827 paste. Like I said -- E-Z.
3829 You can use @kbd{C-k} and @kbd{C-y} on groups as well as on topics. So
3830 you can move topics around as well as groups.
3834 After setting up the topics the way you like them, you might wish to
3835 hide a topic, or to show it again. That's why we have the following
3842 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3844 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3845 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3846 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3847 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3848 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3849 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3853 Now for a list of other commands, in no particular order.
3859 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3860 Move the current group to some other topic
3861 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3862 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3866 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3867 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3871 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3872 Copy the current group to some other topic
3873 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3874 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3878 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3879 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3880 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3884 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3885 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3886 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3890 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3891 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3892 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3893 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3894 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3895 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3896 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3899 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3900 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3904 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3905 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3906 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3910 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3911 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3912 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3916 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3917 Toggle hiding empty topics
3918 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3922 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3923 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3924 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3925 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3928 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3929 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3930 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3931 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}). This command works recursively on
3932 sub-topics unless given a prefix.
3935 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3936 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3937 @cindex expiring mail
3938 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the
3939 expiry process (if any)
3940 (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}). (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
3944 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3945 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3948 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3949 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3950 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3954 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3955 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3956 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3959 @kindex T M-n (Topic)
3960 @findex gnus-topic-goto-next-topic
3961 Go to the next topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-next-topic}).
3964 @kindex T M-p (Topic)
3965 @findex gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic
3966 Go to the previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-goto-previous-topic}).
3970 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3971 @cindex group parameters
3972 @cindex topic parameters
3974 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3975 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3980 @node Topic Variables
3981 @subsection Topic Variables
3982 @cindex topic variables
3984 The previous section told you how to tell Gnus which topics to display.
3985 This section explains how to tell Gnus what to display about each topic.
3987 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3988 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3989 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4002 Number of groups in the topic.
4004 Number of unread articles in the topic.
4006 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
4009 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
4010 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
4011 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
4014 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
4015 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
4017 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
4018 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
4019 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
4023 @subsection Topic Sorting
4024 @cindex topic sorting
4026 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
4032 @kindex T S a (Topic)
4033 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
4034 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
4035 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
4038 @kindex T S u (Topic)
4039 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
4040 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
4041 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
4044 @kindex T S l (Topic)
4045 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
4046 Sort the current topic by group level
4047 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
4050 @kindex T S v (Topic)
4051 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
4052 Sort the current topic by group score
4053 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
4056 @kindex T S r (Topic)
4057 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
4058 Sort the current topic by group rank
4059 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
4062 @kindex T S m (Topic)
4063 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
4064 Sort the current topic alphabetically by back end name
4065 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
4068 @kindex T S e (Topic)
4069 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server
4070 Sort the current topic alphabetically by server name
4071 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-server}).
4074 @kindex T S s (Topic)
4075 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups
4076 Sort the current topic according to the function(s) given by the
4077 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable
4078 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups}).
4082 When given a prefix argument, all these commands will sort in reverse
4083 order. @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group
4087 @node Topic Topology
4088 @subsection Topic Topology
4089 @cindex topic topology
4092 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
4099 2: alt.religion.emacs
4102 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4104 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4105 13: comp.sources.unix
4109 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
4110 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
4111 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
4116 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
4117 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
4121 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
4122 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
4123 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
4124 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
4125 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
4126 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
4128 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
4129 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
4130 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
4133 @node Topic Parameters
4134 @subsection Topic Parameters
4135 @cindex topic parameters
4137 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent
4138 (and ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid
4139 topic parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}). When the agent is
4140 enabled, all agent parameters (See Agent Parameters in @ref{Category
4141 Syntax}) are also valid topic parameters.
4143 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
4148 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
4149 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
4150 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
4153 @item subscribe-level
4154 When subscribing new groups by topic (see the @code{subscribe} parameter),
4155 the group will be subscribed with the level specified in the
4156 @code{subscribe-level} instead of @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}.
4160 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
4161 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
4162 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
4163 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
4170 2: alt.religion.emacs
4174 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
4176 8: comp.binaries.fractals
4177 13: comp.sources.unix
4182 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
4183 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
4184 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
4185 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
4186 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
4187 . "religion.SCORE")}.
4189 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
4190 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
4191 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
4192 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
4193 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
4195 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
4196 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
4197 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
4198 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
4199 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
4200 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
4201 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
4202 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
4205 @node Non-ASCII Group Names
4206 @section Accessing groups of non-English names
4207 @cindex non-ascii group names
4209 There are some news servers that provide groups of which the names are
4210 expressed with their native languages in the world. For instance, in a
4211 certain news server there are some newsgroups of which the names are
4212 spelled in Chinese, where people are talking in Chinese. You can, of
4213 course, subscribe to such news groups using Gnus. Currently Gnus
4214 supports non-@acronym{ASCII} group names not only with the @code{nntp}
4215 back end but also with the @code{nnml} back end and the @code{nnrss}
4218 Every such group name is encoded by a certain charset in the server
4219 side (in an @acronym{NNTP} server its administrator determines the
4220 charset, but for groups in the other back ends it is determined by you).
4221 Gnus has to display the decoded ones for you in the group buffer and the
4222 article buffer, and needs to use the encoded ones when communicating
4223 with servers. However, Gnus doesn't know what charset is used for each
4224 non-@acronym{ASCII} group name. The following two variables are just
4225 the ones for telling Gnus what charset should be used for each group:
4228 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4229 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4230 An alist of select methods and charsets. The default value is
4231 @code{nil}. The names of groups in the server specified by that select
4232 method are all supposed to use the corresponding charset. For example:
4235 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
4236 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
4239 Charsets specified for groups with this variable are preferred to the
4240 ones specified for the same groups with the
4241 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist} variable (see below).
4243 A select method can be very long, like:
4247 (nntp-address "news.gmane.org")
4248 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
4249 (nntp-open-connection-function
4250 nntp-open-via-rlogin-and-telnet)
4251 (nntp-via-rlogin-command "ssh")
4252 (nntp-via-rlogin-command-switches
4253 ("-C" "-t" "-e" "none"))
4254 (nntp-via-address @dots{}))
4257 In that case, you can truncate it into @code{(nntp "gmane")} in this
4258 variable. That is, it is enough to contain only the back end name and
4261 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4262 @cindex UTF-8 group names
4263 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4264 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
4265 @code{((".*" . utf-8))} is the default value if UTF-8 is supported,
4266 otherwise the default is @code{nil}. For example:
4269 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
4270 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)
4274 Note that this variable is ignored if the match is made with
4275 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist}.
4278 Those two variables are used also to determine the charset for encoding
4279 and decoding non-@acronym{ASCII} group names that are in the back ends
4280 other than @code{nntp}. It means that it is you who determine it. If
4281 you do nothing, the charset used for group names in those back ends will
4282 all be @code{utf-8} because of the last element of
4283 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4285 There is one more important variable for non-@acronym{ASCII} group
4289 @item nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4290 @vindex nnmail-pathname-coding-system
4291 The value of this variable should be a coding system or @code{nil}. The
4292 default is @code{nil} in Emacs, or is the aliasee of the coding system
4293 named @code{file-name} (a certain coding system of which an alias is
4294 @code{file-name}) in XEmacs.
4296 The @code{nnml} back end, the @code{nnrss} back end, the @acronym{NNTP}
4297 marks feature (@pxref{NNTP marks}), the agent, and the cache use
4298 non-@acronym{ASCII} group names in those files and directories. This
4299 variable overrides the value of @code{file-name-coding-system} which
4300 specifies the coding system used when encoding and decoding those file
4301 names and directory names.
4303 In XEmacs (with the @code{mule} feature), @code{file-name-coding-system}
4304 is the only means to specify the coding system used to encode and decode
4305 file names. On the other hand, Emacs uses the value of
4306 @code{default-file-name-coding-system} if @code{file-name-coding-system}
4307 is @code{nil} or it is bound to the value of
4308 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} which is @code{nil}.
4310 Normally the value of @code{default-file-name-coding-system} in Emacs or
4311 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system} in XEmacs is initialized according
4312 to the locale, so you will need to do nothing if the value is suitable
4313 to encode and decode non-@acronym{ASCII} group names.
4315 The value of this variable (or @code{default-file-name-coding-system})
4316 does not necessarily need to be the same value that is determined by
4317 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist} and
4318 @code{gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist}.
4320 If @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable is
4321 initialized by default to @code{iso-latin-1} for example, although you
4322 want to subscribe to the groups spelled in Chinese, that is the most
4323 typical case where you have to customize
4324 @code{nnmail-pathname-coding-system}. The @code{utf-8} coding system is
4325 a good candidate for it. Otherwise, you may change the locale in your
4326 system so that @code{default-file-name-coding-system} or this variable
4327 may be initialized to an appropriate value.
4330 Note that when you copy or move articles from a non-@acronym{ASCII}
4331 group to another group, the charset used to encode and decode group
4332 names should be the same in both groups. Otherwise the Newsgroups
4333 header will be displayed incorrectly in the article buffer.
4336 @node Misc Group Stuff
4337 @section Misc Group Stuff
4340 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
4341 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
4342 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
4343 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
4344 * Sieve Commands:: Managing Sieve scripts.
4351 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Group)
4352 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4353 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4356 (define-key gnus-group-mode-map (kbd "v j d")
4359 (gnus-group-jump-to-group "nndraft:drafts")))
4362 On keys reserved for users in Emacs and on keybindings in general
4363 @xref{Keymaps, Keymaps, , emacs, The Emacs Editor}.
4367 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
4368 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
4369 @xref{Server Buffer}.
4373 @findex gnus-group-post-news
4374 Start composing a message (a news by default)
4375 (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a prefix, post to the group
4376 under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
4377 Contrary to what the name of this function suggests, the prepared
4378 article might be a mail instead of a news, if a mail group is specified
4379 with the prefix argument. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4383 @findex gnus-group-mail
4384 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}). If given a prefix,
4385 use the posting style of the group under the point. If the prefix is 1,
4386 prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
4387 @xref{Composing Messages}.
4391 @findex gnus-group-news
4392 Start composing a news (@code{gnus-group-news}). If given a prefix,
4393 post to the group under the point. If the prefix is 1, prompt
4394 for group to post to. @xref{Composing Messages}.
4396 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
4397 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
4398 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
4399 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
4400 for this to work though.
4404 @findex gnus-group-compact-group
4406 Compact the group under point (@code{gnus-group-compact-group}).
4407 Currently implemented only in nnml (@pxref{Mail Spool}). This removes
4408 gaps between article numbers, hence getting a correct total article
4413 Variables for the group buffer:
4417 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
4418 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
4419 is called after the group buffer has been
4422 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
4423 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4424 is called after the group buffer is
4425 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
4428 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
4429 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
4430 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
4431 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
4433 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4434 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
4435 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
4436 whether they are empty or not.
4440 @node Scanning New Messages
4441 @subsection Scanning New Messages
4442 @cindex new messages
4443 @cindex scanning new news
4449 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
4450 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
4451 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
4452 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
4453 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
4454 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
4459 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
4460 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
4461 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
4462 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
4463 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
4464 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
4465 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
4467 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
4468 @cindex activating groups
4470 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
4471 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
4476 @findex gnus-group-restart
4477 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
4478 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
4479 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
4483 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
4484 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
4486 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
4487 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
4491 @node Group Information
4492 @subsection Group Information
4493 @cindex group information
4494 @cindex information on groups
4501 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
4503 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
4504 @cindex describing groups
4505 @cindex group description
4506 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
4507 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
4508 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
4512 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
4513 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
4514 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
4521 @findex gnus-version
4522 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
4526 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
4527 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
4530 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
4533 @findex gnus-info-find-node
4534 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
4538 @node Group Timestamp
4539 @subsection Group Timestamp
4541 @cindex group timestamps
4543 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
4544 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
4545 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
4548 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
4551 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
4553 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
4554 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
4557 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4558 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
4561 This will result in lines looking like:
4564 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
4565 0: custom 19961002T012713
4568 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
4569 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
4573 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4574 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
4577 If you would like greater control of the time format, you can use a
4578 user-defined format spec. Something like the following should do the
4582 (setq gnus-group-line-format
4583 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %ud\n")
4584 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
4585 (let ((time (gnus-group-timestamp gnus-tmp-group)))
4587 (format-time-string "%b %d %H:%M" time)
4593 @subsection File Commands
4594 @cindex file commands
4600 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
4601 @vindex gnus-init-file
4602 @cindex reading init file
4603 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
4604 @file{~/.gnus.el}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
4608 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
4609 @cindex saving .newsrc
4610 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
4611 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
4612 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
4615 @c @kindex Z (Group)
4616 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
4617 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
4622 @node Sieve Commands
4623 @subsection Sieve Commands
4624 @cindex group sieve commands
4626 Sieve is a server-side mail filtering language. In Gnus you can use
4627 the @code{sieve} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to specify
4628 sieve rules that should apply to each group. Gnus provides two
4629 commands to translate all these group parameters into a proper Sieve
4630 script that can be transferred to the server somehow.
4632 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4633 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-start
4634 @vindex gnus-sieve-region-end
4635 The generated Sieve script is placed in @code{gnus-sieve-file} (by
4636 default @file{~/.sieve}). The Sieve code that Gnus generate is placed
4637 between two delimiters, @code{gnus-sieve-region-start} and
4638 @code{gnus-sieve-region-end}, so you may write additional Sieve code
4639 outside these delimiters that will not be removed the next time you
4640 regenerate the Sieve script.
4642 @vindex gnus-sieve-crosspost
4643 The variable @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} controls how the Sieve script
4644 is generated. If it is non-@code{nil} (the default) articles is
4645 placed in all groups that have matching rules, otherwise the article
4646 is only placed in the group with the first matching rule. For
4647 example, the group parameter @samp{(sieve address "sender"
4648 "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu")} will generate the following piece of Sieve
4649 code if @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is @code{nil}. (When
4650 @code{gnus-sieve-crosspost} is non-@code{nil}, it looks the same
4651 except that the line containing the call to @code{stop} is removed.)
4654 if address "sender" "owner-ding@@hpc.uh.edu" @{
4655 fileinto "INBOX.ding";
4660 @xref{Top, Emacs Sieve, Top, sieve, Emacs Sieve}.
4666 @findex gnus-sieve-generate
4667 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4668 @cindex generating sieve script
4669 Regenerate a Sieve script from the @code{sieve} group parameters and
4670 put you into the @code{gnus-sieve-file} without saving it.
4674 @findex gnus-sieve-update
4675 @vindex gnus-sieve-file
4676 @cindex updating sieve script
4677 Regenerates the Gnus managed part of @code{gnus-sieve-file} using the
4678 @code{sieve} group parameters, save the file and upload it to the
4679 server using the @code{sieveshell} program.
4684 @node Summary Buffer
4685 @chapter Summary Buffer
4686 @cindex summary buffer
4688 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
4689 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
4691 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
4692 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
4694 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
4696 You can customize the Summary Mode tool bar, see @kbd{M-x
4697 customize-apropos RET gnus-summary-tool-bar}. This feature is only
4701 @cindex keys, reserved for users (Summary)
4702 The key @kbd{v} is reserved for users. You can bind it to some
4703 command or better use it as a prefix key. For example:
4705 (define-key gnus-summary-mode-map (kbd "v -") "LrS") ;; lower subthread
4709 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
4710 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
4711 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
4712 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
4713 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
4714 * Delayed Articles:: Send articles at a later time.
4715 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
4716 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
4717 * Threading:: How threads are made.
4718 * Sorting the Summary Buffer:: How articles and threads are sorted.
4719 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
4720 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
4721 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
4722 * Sticky Articles:: Article buffers that are not reused.
4723 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
4724 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
4725 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
4726 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
4727 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
4728 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
4729 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
4730 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
4731 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
4732 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
4733 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
4734 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
4735 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
4736 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
4737 or reselecting the current group.
4738 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
4739 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
4740 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
4741 * Mailing List:: Mailing list minor mode.
4745 @node Summary Buffer Format
4746 @section Summary Buffer Format
4747 @cindex summary buffer format
4751 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
4752 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary,width=7.5cm}}
4753 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-article,width=7.5cm}}}
4759 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
4760 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
4761 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
4762 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
4765 @findex mail-extract-address-components
4766 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
4767 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
4768 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
4769 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
4770 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
4771 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
4772 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
4773 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
4774 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
4775 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
4778 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
4779 'mail-extract-address-components)
4782 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
4783 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
4784 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
4785 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
4788 @node Summary Buffer Lines
4789 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
4791 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4792 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
4793 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
4794 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
4795 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
4797 There should always be a colon or a point position marker on the line;
4798 the cursor always moves to the point position marker or the colon after
4799 performing an operation. (Of course, Gnus wouldn't be Gnus if it wasn't
4800 possible to change this. Just write a new function
4801 @code{gnus-goto-colon} which does whatever you like with the cursor.)
4802 @xref{Positioning Point}.
4804 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n}.
4806 The following format specification characters and extended format
4807 specification(s) are understood:
4813 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
4814 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
4816 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
4817 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
4818 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
4820 Full @code{From} header.
4822 The name (from the @code{From} header).
4824 The name, @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header (@pxref{To
4827 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
4828 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
4829 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
4830 may be more thorough.
4832 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
4835 Number of lines in the article.
4837 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported
4838 in some methods (like nnfolder).
4840 Pretty-printed version of the number of characters in the article;
4841 for example, @samp{1.2k} or @samp{0.4M}.
4843 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4845 A complex trn-style thread tree, showing response-connecting trace
4846 lines. A thread could be drawn like this:
4859 You can customize the appearance with the following options. Note
4860 that it is possible to make the thread display look really neat by
4861 replacing the default @acronym{ASCII} characters with graphic
4862 line-drawing glyphs.
4864 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4865 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-root
4866 Used for the root of a thread. If @code{nil}, use subject
4867 instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4869 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4870 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-false-root
4871 Used for the false root of a thread (@pxref{Loose Threads}). If
4872 @code{nil}, use subject instead. The default is @samp{> }.
4874 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4875 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-indent
4876 Used for a thread with just one message. If @code{nil}, use subject
4877 instead. The default is @samp{}.
4879 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4880 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-vertical
4881 Used for drawing a vertical line. The default is @samp{| }.
4883 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4884 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-indent
4885 Used for indenting. The default is @samp{ }.
4887 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4888 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-leaf-with-other
4889 Used for a leaf with brothers. The default is @samp{+-> }.
4891 @item gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4892 @vindex gnus-sum-thread-tree-single-leaf
4893 Used for a leaf without brothers. The default is @samp{\-> }
4898 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
4899 pushes everything after it off the screen).
4901 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
4902 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
4904 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
4905 for adopted articles.
4907 One space for each thread level.
4909 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4911 Unread. @xref{Read Articles}.
4914 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4915 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4916 or has been saved. @xref{Other Marks}.
4919 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4921 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4922 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4923 default level. If the difference between
4924 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4925 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4933 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4935 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4941 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4942 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4944 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4945 article has any children.
4951 Desired cursor position (instead of after first colon).
4953 Age sensitive date format. Various date format is defined in
4954 @code{gnus-user-date-format-alist}.
4956 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4957 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4958 @code{gnus-user-format-function-@var{x}}, where @var{x} is the letter
4959 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4960 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4961 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4964 Text between @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} will be highlighted with
4965 @code{gnus-mouse-face} when the mouse point is placed inside the area.
4966 There can only be one such area.
4968 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4969 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
4970 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4971 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4972 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4973 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4975 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4976 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4978 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
4981 @node To From Newsgroups
4982 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4986 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4987 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4988 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4989 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4990 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4994 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4995 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4996 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
5000 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5001 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
5004 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
5005 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
5008 @findex gnus-extra-header
5009 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
5010 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
5011 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
5014 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
5018 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5019 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
5020 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
5021 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
5022 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
5023 headers are used instead.
5025 To distinguish regular articles from those where the @code{From} field
5026 has been swapped, a string is prefixed to the @code{To} or
5027 @code{Newsgroups} header in the summary line. By default the string is
5028 @samp{-> } for @code{To} and @samp{=> } for @code{Newsgroups}, you can
5029 customize these strings with @code{gnus-summary-to-prefix} and
5030 @code{gnus-summary-newsgroup-prefix}.
5034 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
5035 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
5036 to include extra headers when generating overview (@acronym{NOV}) files.
5037 If you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after
5038 changing this variable, by entering the server buffer using @kbd{^},
5039 and then @kbd{g} on the appropriate mail server (e.g. nnml) to cause
5042 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
5043 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
5044 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
5045 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
5047 In summary, you'd typically put something like the following in
5051 (setq gnus-extra-headers
5053 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
5054 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
5055 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-23,23f%]%) %s\n")
5056 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
5060 (The values listed above are the default values in Gnus. Alter them
5063 A note for news server administrators, or for users who wish to try to
5064 convince their news server administrator to provide some additional
5067 The above is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
5068 the @acronym{NOV} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
5069 nntp admin to add (in the usual implementation, notably INN):
5075 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
5076 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
5079 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
5080 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
5082 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
5083 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
5084 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
5085 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
5087 Here are the elements you can play with:
5093 Unprefixed group name.
5095 Current article number.
5097 Current article score.
5101 Number of unread articles in this group.
5103 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
5106 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
5107 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
5108 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
5109 and no unselected ones.
5111 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
5112 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
5114 Subject of the current article.
5116 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
5118 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
5120 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5122 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
5124 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
5126 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
5130 @node Summary Highlighting
5131 @subsection Summary Highlighting
5135 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5136 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
5137 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
5138 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
5139 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5141 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
5142 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
5143 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
5144 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
5146 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
5147 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
5148 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
5149 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
5151 @item gnus-summary-highlight
5152 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
5153 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
5154 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
5155 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
5156 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
5159 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
5160 ((> score default) . bold))
5162 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
5163 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
5167 @node Summary Maneuvering
5168 @section Summary Maneuvering
5169 @cindex summary movement
5171 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
5172 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
5174 None of these commands select articles.
5179 @kindex M-n (Summary)
5180 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
5182 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
5183 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
5187 @kindex M-p (Summary)
5188 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
5189 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
5190 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
5191 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
5194 @kindex G g (Summary)
5195 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
5196 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
5197 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
5200 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
5201 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
5202 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
5203 to the group buffer.
5205 Variables related to summary movement:
5209 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
5210 @item gnus-auto-select-next
5211 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
5212 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
5213 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
5214 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
5215 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
5216 next group with unread articles. As a special case, if this variable
5217 is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
5218 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same
5219 will happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
5220 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
5221 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
5222 @pxref{Group Levels}.
5224 @item gnus-auto-select-same
5225 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
5226 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
5227 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
5228 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
5229 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
5230 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
5232 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
5234 @item gnus-summary-check-current
5235 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
5236 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
5237 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
5238 Instead, they will choose the current article.
5240 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
5241 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
5242 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
5243 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
5244 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
5245 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
5246 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
5247 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
5250 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
5251 the given number of lines from the top.
5253 @item gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5254 @vindex gnus-summary-stop-at-end-of-message
5255 If non-@code{nil}, don't go to the next article when hitting
5256 @kbd{SPC}, and you're at the end of the article.
5261 @node Choosing Articles
5262 @section Choosing Articles
5263 @cindex selecting articles
5266 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
5267 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
5271 @node Choosing Commands
5272 @subsection Choosing Commands
5274 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
5275 and they all select and display an article.
5277 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
5278 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
5282 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5284 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
5285 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5287 If you have an article window open already and you press @kbd{SPACE}
5288 again, the article will be scrolled. This lets you conveniently
5289 @kbd{SPACE} through an entire newsgroup. @xref{Paging the Article}.
5294 @kindex G n (Summary)
5295 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
5296 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
5297 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
5302 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
5303 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
5304 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
5309 @kindex G N (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
5311 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
5316 @kindex G P (Summary)
5317 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
5318 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
5321 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
5323 Go to the next article with the same subject
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
5327 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
5328 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
5329 Go to the previous article with the same subject
5330 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
5334 @kindex G f (Summary)
5336 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
5337 Go to the first unread article
5338 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
5342 @kindex G b (Summary)
5344 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
5345 Go to the unread article with the highest score
5346 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}). If given a prefix argument,
5347 go to the first unread article that has a score over the default score.
5352 @kindex G l (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
5354 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
5357 @kindex G o (Summary)
5358 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
5360 @cindex article history
5361 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
5362 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
5363 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
5364 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
5365 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
5366 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
5371 @kindex G j (Summary)
5372 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
5373 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
5374 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
5379 @node Choosing Variables
5380 @subsection Choosing Variables
5382 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
5385 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5386 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
5387 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
5388 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
5389 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
5390 the server and display it in the article buffer.
5392 @item gnus-select-article-hook
5393 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
5394 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. The default is
5395 @code{nil}. If you would like each article to be saved in the Agent as
5396 you read it, putting @code{gnus-agent-fetch-selected-article} on this
5399 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
5400 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
5401 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
5402 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
5403 @findex gnus-unread-mark
5404 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
5405 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
5406 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
5407 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-read-mark}. The only
5408 articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
5409 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
5410 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
5411 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
5412 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
5417 @node Paging the Article
5418 @section Scrolling the Article
5419 @cindex article scrolling
5424 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
5425 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
5426 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
5427 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
5428 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
5430 @vindex gnus-article-boring-faces
5431 @vindex gnus-article-skip-boring
5432 If @code{gnus-article-skip-boring} is non-@code{nil} and the rest of
5433 the article consists only of citations and signature, then it will be
5434 skipped; the next article will be shown instead. You can customize
5435 what is considered uninteresting with
5436 @code{gnus-article-boring-faces}. You can manually view the article's
5437 pages, no matter how boring, using @kbd{C-M-v}.
5440 @kindex DEL (Summary)
5441 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
5442 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
5445 @kindex RET (Summary)
5446 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
5447 Scroll the current article one line forward
5448 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
5451 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
5453 Scroll the current article one line backward
5454 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
5458 @kindex A g (Summary)
5460 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
5461 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5462 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
5463 given a prefix, show a completely ``raw'' article, just the way it
5464 came from the server. If given a prefix twice (i.e., @kbd{C-u C-u
5465 g'}), fetch the current article, but don't run any of the article
5466 treatment functions.
5468 @cindex charset, view article with different charset
5469 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
5470 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
5471 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
5474 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
5479 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
5484 @kindex A < (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
5486 Scroll to the beginning of the article
5487 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
5492 @kindex A > (Summary)
5493 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
5494 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
5498 @kindex A s (Summary)
5500 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
5501 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
5502 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
5506 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
5507 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
5512 @node Reply Followup and Post
5513 @section Reply, Followup and Post
5516 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
5517 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
5518 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
5519 * Canceling and Superseding::
5523 @node Summary Mail Commands
5524 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
5526 @cindex composing mail
5528 Commands for composing a mail message:
5534 @kindex S r (Summary)
5536 @findex gnus-summary-reply
5537 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
5538 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
5539 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
5540 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
5545 @kindex S R (Summary)
5546 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
5547 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
5548 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5549 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
5550 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5553 @kindex S w (Summary)
5554 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
5555 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
5556 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
5557 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5558 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers. If @code{Mail-Followup-To} is
5559 present, that's used instead.
5562 @kindex S W (Summary)
5563 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
5564 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
5565 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
5566 the process/prefix convention, but only uses the headers from the
5567 first article to determine the recipients.
5570 @kindex S L (Summary)
5571 @findex gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original
5572 When replying to a message from a mailing list, send a reply to that
5573 message to the mailing list, and include the original message
5574 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-to-list-with-original}).
5577 @kindex S v (Summary)
5578 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply
5579 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article
5580 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{very wide reply} is a reply
5581 that goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
5582 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers in all the process/prefixed
5583 articles. This command uses the process/prefix convention.
5586 @kindex S V (Summary)
5587 @findex gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original
5588 Mail a very wide reply to the author of the current article and include the
5589 original message (@code{gnus-summary-very-wide-reply-with-original}). This
5590 command uses the process/prefix convention.
5593 @kindex S B r (Summary)
5594 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to
5595 Mail a reply to the author of the current article but ignore the
5596 @code{Reply-To} field (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to}).
5597 If you need this because a mailing list incorrectly sets a
5598 @code{Reply-To} header pointing to the list, you probably want to set
5599 the @code{broken-reply-to} group parameter instead, so things will work
5600 correctly. @xref{Group Parameters}.
5603 @kindex S B R (Summary)
5604 @findex gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original
5605 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
5606 original message but ignore the @code{Reply-To} field
5607 (@code{gnus-summary-reply-broken-reply-to-with-original}).
5611 @kindex S o m (Summary)
5612 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
5613 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
5614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
5615 Forward the current article to some other person
5616 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
5617 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
5618 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5619 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5620 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5621 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5622 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5623 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5624 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME}
5630 @kindex S m (Summary)
5631 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
5632 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
5633 Prepare a mail (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}). By default, use
5634 the posting style of the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5635 If the prefix is 1, prompt for a group name to find the posting style.
5638 @kindex S i (Summary)
5639 @findex gnus-summary-news-other-window
5640 Prepare a news (@code{gnus-summary-news-other-window}). By default,
5641 post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that. If the
5642 prefix is 1, prompt for a group to post to.
5644 This function actually prepares a news even when using mail groups.
5645 This is useful for ``posting'' messages to mail groups without actually
5646 sending them over the network: they're just saved directly to the group
5647 in question. The corresponding back end must have a request-post method
5648 for this to work though.
5651 @kindex S D b (Summary)
5652 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
5653 @cindex bouncing mail
5654 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
5655 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
5656 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
5657 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
5658 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
5659 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
5660 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
5661 very well fail, though.
5664 @kindex S D r (Summary)
5665 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
5666 Not to be confused with the previous command,
5667 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
5668 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
5669 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
5670 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
5671 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
5672 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
5673 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
5675 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
5676 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
5677 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
5678 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
5679 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
5681 This command understands the process/prefix convention
5682 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5685 @kindex S D e (Summary)
5686 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message-edit
5688 Like the previous command, but will allow you to edit the message as
5689 if it were a new message before resending.
5692 @kindex S O m (Summary)
5693 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
5694 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
5695 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
5696 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5699 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
5700 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
5701 @cindex crossposting
5702 @cindex excessive crossposting
5703 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
5704 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
5706 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
5707 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
5708 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
5709 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
5710 command understands the process/prefix convention
5711 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
5715 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5716 Manual}, for more information.
5719 @node Summary Post Commands
5720 @subsection Summary Post Commands
5722 @cindex composing news
5724 Commands for posting a news article:
5730 @kindex S p (Summary)
5731 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
5732 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
5733 Prepare for posting an article (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}). By
5734 default, post to the current group. If given a prefix, disable that.
5735 If the prefix is 1, prompt for another group instead.
5740 @kindex S f (Summary)
5741 @findex gnus-summary-followup
5742 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
5743 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
5747 @kindex S F (Summary)
5749 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
5750 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
5751 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
5752 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
5753 process/prefix convention.
5756 @kindex S n (Summary)
5757 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
5758 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5759 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
5762 @kindex S N (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
5764 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
5765 message through mail and include the original message
5766 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
5767 the process/prefix convention.
5770 @kindex S o p (Summary)
5771 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
5772 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
5773 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
5774 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
5775 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
5776 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
5777 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, forward message
5778 as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
5779 forward as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section; if the prefix is 4, forward message
5780 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
5781 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
5782 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 @acronym{MIME} section.
5785 @kindex S O p (Summary)
5786 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
5788 @cindex making digests
5789 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
5790 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-post-forward}). This command uses the
5791 process/prefix convention.
5794 @kindex S u (Summary)
5795 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
5796 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
5797 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
5798 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
5801 Also @xref{Header Commands, ,Header Commands, message, The Message
5802 Manual}, for more information.
5805 @node Summary Message Commands
5806 @subsection Summary Message Commands
5810 @kindex S y (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
5812 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
5813 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
5814 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
5815 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5820 @node Canceling and Superseding
5821 @subsection Canceling Articles
5822 @cindex canceling articles
5823 @cindex superseding articles
5825 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
5826 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
5828 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
5830 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
5832 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
5833 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
5834 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
5835 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
5836 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
5837 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5839 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
5840 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
5843 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
5844 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
5845 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
5847 Gnus ensures that only you can cancel your own messages using a
5848 @code{Cancel-Lock} header (@pxref{Canceling News, Canceling News, ,
5849 message, Message Manual}).
5851 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
5852 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
5853 your original article.
5855 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
5857 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
5858 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
5859 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
5862 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
5863 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
5864 have posted almost the same article twice.
5866 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
5867 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
5868 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
5869 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
5870 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
5871 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
5872 header by substituting one of those words for the word
5873 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
5874 you would do normally. The previous article will be
5875 canceled/superseded.
5877 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
5879 @node Delayed Articles
5880 @section Delayed Articles
5881 @cindex delayed sending
5882 @cindex send delayed
5884 Sometimes, you might wish to delay the sending of a message. For
5885 example, you might wish to arrange for a message to turn up just in time
5886 to remind your about the birthday of your Significant Other. For this,
5887 there is the @code{gnus-delay} package. Setup is simple:
5890 (gnus-delay-initialize)
5893 @findex gnus-delay-article
5894 Normally, to send a message you use the @kbd{C-c C-c} command from
5895 Message mode. To delay a message, use @kbd{C-c C-j}
5896 (@code{gnus-delay-article}) instead. This will ask you for how long the
5897 message should be delayed. Possible answers are:
5901 A time span. Consists of an integer and a letter. For example,
5902 @code{42d} means to delay for 42 days. Available letters are @code{m}
5903 (minutes), @code{h} (hours), @code{d} (days), @code{w} (weeks), @code{M}
5904 (months) and @code{Y} (years).
5907 A specific date. Looks like @code{YYYY-MM-DD}. The message will be
5908 delayed until that day, at a specific time (eight o'clock by default).
5909 See also @code{gnus-delay-default-hour}.
5912 A specific time of day. Given in @code{hh:mm} format, 24h, no am/pm
5913 stuff. The deadline will be at that time today, except if that time has
5914 already passed, then it's at the given time tomorrow. So if it's ten
5915 o'clock in the morning and you specify @code{11:15}, then the deadline
5916 is one hour and fifteen minutes hence. But if you specify @code{9:20},
5917 that means a time tomorrow.
5920 The action of the @code{gnus-delay-article} command is influenced by a
5921 couple of variables:
5924 @item gnus-delay-default-hour
5925 @vindex gnus-delay-default-hour
5926 When you specify a specific date, the message will be due on that hour
5927 on the given date. Possible values are integers 0 through 23.
5929 @item gnus-delay-default-delay
5930 @vindex gnus-delay-default-delay
5931 This is a string and gives the default delay. It can be of any of the
5932 formats described above.
5934 @item gnus-delay-group
5935 @vindex gnus-delay-group
5936 Delayed articles will be kept in this group on the drafts server until
5937 they are due. You probably don't need to change this. The default
5938 value is @code{"delayed"}.
5940 @item gnus-delay-header
5941 @vindex gnus-delay-header
5942 The deadline for each article will be stored in a header. This variable
5943 is a string and gives the header name. You probably don't need to
5944 change this. The default value is @code{"X-Gnus-Delayed"}.
5947 The way delaying works is like this: when you use the
5948 @code{gnus-delay-article} command, you give a certain delay. Gnus
5949 calculates the deadline of the message and stores it in the
5950 @code{X-Gnus-Delayed} header and puts the message in the
5951 @code{nndraft:delayed} group.
5953 @findex gnus-delay-send-queue
5954 And whenever you get new news, Gnus looks through the group for articles
5955 which are due and sends them. It uses the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue}
5956 function for this. By default, this function is added to the hook
5957 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But of course, you can change this.
5958 Maybe you want to use the demon to send drafts? Just tell the demon to
5959 execute the @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} function.
5962 @item gnus-delay-initialize
5963 @findex gnus-delay-initialize
5964 By default, this function installs @code{gnus-delay-send-queue} in
5965 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook}. But it accepts the optional second
5966 argument @code{no-check}. If it is non-@code{nil},
5967 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is not changed. The optional first
5968 argument is ignored.
5970 For example, @code{(gnus-delay-initialize nil t)} means to do nothing.
5971 Presumably, you want to use the demon for sending due delayed articles.
5972 Just don't forget to set that up :-)
5975 When delaying an article with @kbd{C-c C-j}, Message mode will
5976 automatically add a @code{"Date"} header with the current time. In
5977 many cases you probably want the @code{"Date"} header to reflect the
5978 time the message is sent instead. To do this, you have to delete
5979 @code{Date} from @code{message-draft-headers}.
5982 @node Marking Articles
5983 @section Marking Articles
5984 @cindex article marking
5985 @cindex article ticking
5988 There are several marks you can set on an article.
5990 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
5991 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
5992 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
5994 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
5997 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks.
6001 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
6002 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
6003 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
6004 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
6005 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
6006 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
6010 @node Unread Articles
6011 @subsection Unread Articles
6013 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
6018 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
6019 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
6021 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
6022 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
6023 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
6024 tick it. However, articles can be expired (from news servers by the
6025 news server software, Gnus itself never expires ticked messages), so if
6026 you want to keep an article forever, you'll have to make it persistent
6027 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
6030 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
6031 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
6033 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
6034 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
6035 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
6036 Otherwise (except for the visibility issue), they are just like ticked
6040 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
6041 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
6043 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
6048 @subsection Read Articles
6049 @cindex expirable mark
6051 All the following marks mark articles as read.
6056 @vindex gnus-del-mark
6057 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
6058 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
6061 @vindex gnus-read-mark
6062 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
6065 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
6066 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
6067 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
6070 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
6071 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
6074 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
6075 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
6078 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
6079 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
6082 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
6083 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
6086 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
6087 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
6090 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
6091 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
6095 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
6096 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
6097 (@code{gnus-duplicate-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6101 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
6102 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
6104 One more special mark, though:
6108 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
6109 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
6111 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
6112 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
6113 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
6114 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
6120 @subsection Other Marks
6121 @cindex process mark
6124 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
6130 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
6131 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
6132 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
6133 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
6134 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
6137 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
6138 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
6139 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
6140 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
6143 @vindex gnus-forwarded-mark
6144 All articles that you have forwarded will be marked with an @samp{F} in
6145 the second column (@code{gnus-forwarded-mark}).
6148 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
6149 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
6150 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6153 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
6154 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
6155 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
6156 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
6159 @vindex gnus-unseen-mark
6160 Articles that haven't been seen before in Gnus by the user are marked
6161 with a @samp{.} in the second column (@code{gnus-unseen-mark}).
6164 @vindex gnus-downloaded-mark
6165 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), articles may be
6166 downloaded for unplugged (offline) viewing. If you are using the
6167 @samp{%O} spec, these articles get the @samp{+} mark in that spec.
6168 (The variable @code{gnus-downloaded-mark} controls which character to
6172 @vindex gnus-undownloaded-mark
6173 When using the Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}), some articles might
6174 not have been downloaded. Such articles cannot be viewed while you
6175 are unplugged (offline). If you are using the @samp{%O} spec, these
6176 articles get the @samp{-} mark in that spec. (The variable
6177 @code{gnus-undownloaded-mark} controls which character to use.)
6180 @vindex gnus-downloadable-mark
6181 The Gnus agent (@pxref{Agent Basics}) downloads some articles
6182 automatically, but it is also possible to explicitly mark articles for
6183 download, even if they would not be downloaded automatically. Such
6184 explicitly-marked articles get the @samp{%} mark in the first column.
6185 (The variable @code{gnus-downloadable-mark} controls which character to
6189 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
6190 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
6191 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
6192 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
6193 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
6196 @vindex gnus-process-mark
6197 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
6198 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
6199 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
6200 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
6201 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
6205 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
6206 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
6207 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
6209 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
6210 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
6211 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
6215 @subsection Setting Marks
6216 @cindex setting marks
6218 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
6223 @kindex M c (Summary)
6224 @kindex M-u (Summary)
6225 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
6226 @cindex mark as unread
6227 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
6228 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
6234 @kindex M t (Summary)
6235 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
6236 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
6237 @xref{Article Caching}.
6242 @kindex M ? (Summary)
6243 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
6244 Mark the current article as dormant
6245 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
6249 @kindex M d (Summary)
6251 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
6252 Mark the current article as read
6253 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
6257 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
6258 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
6259 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
6264 @kindex M k (Summary)
6265 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
6266 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
6267 and then select the next unread article
6268 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
6272 @kindex M K (Summary)
6273 @kindex C-k (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
6275 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
6276 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
6279 @kindex M C (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
6281 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
6282 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
6285 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
6287 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
6288 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
6291 @kindex M H (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
6293 Catchup the current group to point (before the point)
6294 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
6297 @kindex M h (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-from-here
6299 Catchup the current group from point (after the point)
6300 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-from-here}).
6303 @kindex C-w (Summary)
6304 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
6305 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
6306 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
6309 @kindex M V k (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
6311 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
6312 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
6316 @kindex M e (Summary)
6318 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
6319 Mark the current article as expirable
6320 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
6323 @kindex M b (Summary)
6324 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
6325 Set a bookmark in the current article
6326 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
6329 @kindex M B (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
6331 Remove the bookmark from the current article
6332 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
6335 @kindex M V c (Summary)
6336 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
6337 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
6338 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6341 @kindex M V u (Summary)
6342 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
6343 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
6344 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
6347 @kindex M V m (Summary)
6348 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
6349 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
6350 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
6351 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
6354 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
6355 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
6356 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
6357 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
6358 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
6359 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
6360 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
6361 The default is @code{t}.
6364 @node Generic Marking Commands
6365 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
6367 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
6368 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
6369 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
6370 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
6371 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
6374 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
6375 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
6378 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
6379 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
6380 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
6381 to list in this manual.
6383 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
6384 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
6385 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
6386 article, you could say something like:
6390 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
6391 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6392 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
6400 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
6401 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
6405 @node Setting Process Marks
6406 @subsection Setting Process Marks
6407 @cindex setting process marks
6409 Process marks are displayed as @code{#} in the summary buffer, and are
6410 used for marking articles in such a way that other commands will
6411 process these articles. For instance, if you process mark four
6412 articles and then use the @kbd{*} command, Gnus will enter these four
6413 articles into the cache. For more information,
6414 @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
6421 @kindex M P p (Summary)
6422 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
6423 Mark the current article with the process mark
6424 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
6425 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
6429 @kindex M P u (Summary)
6430 @kindex M-# (Summary)
6431 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
6432 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
6435 @kindex M P U (Summary)
6436 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
6437 Remove the process mark from all articles
6438 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
6441 @kindex M P i (Summary)
6442 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
6443 Invert the list of process marked articles
6444 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
6447 @kindex M P R (Summary)
6448 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
6449 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6450 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
6453 @kindex M P G (Summary)
6454 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
6455 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
6456 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
6459 @kindex M P r (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
6461 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
6464 @kindex M P g (Summary)
6465 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
6466 Unmark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
6469 @kindex M P t (Summary)
6470 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
6471 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6472 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
6475 @kindex M P T (Summary)
6476 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
6477 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
6478 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
6481 @kindex M P v (Summary)
6482 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
6483 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
6484 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
6487 @kindex M P s (Summary)
6488 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
6489 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
6492 @kindex M P S (Summary)
6493 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
6494 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
6495 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
6498 @kindex M P a (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
6500 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}).
6503 @kindex M P b (Summary)
6504 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
6505 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
6506 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
6509 @kindex M P k (Summary)
6510 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
6511 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
6512 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
6515 @kindex M P y (Summary)
6516 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
6517 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
6518 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
6521 @kindex M P w (Summary)
6522 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
6523 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
6524 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
6528 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @ref{Searching for Articles}, for how to
6529 set process marks based on article body contents.
6536 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
6537 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
6538 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
6541 Limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched from
6542 the servers. These commands don't query the server for additional
6549 @kindex / / (Summary)
6550 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
6551 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
6552 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}). If given a prefix, exclude
6556 @kindex / a (Summary)
6557 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
6558 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
6559 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}). If given a prefix, exclude
6563 @kindex / R (Summary)
6564 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient
6565 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some recipient
6566 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-recipient}). If given a prefix, exclude
6570 @kindex / A (Summary)
6571 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-address
6572 Limit the summary buffer to articles in which contents of From, To or Cc
6573 header match a given address (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-address}). If
6574 given a prefix, exclude matching articles.
6577 @kindex / S (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons
6579 Limit the summary buffer to articles that aren't part of any displayed
6580 threads (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-singletons}). If given a prefix,
6581 limit to articles that are part of displayed threads.
6584 @kindex / x (Summary)
6585 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
6586 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
6587 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
6588 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}). If given a prefix, exclude
6593 @kindex / u (Summary)
6595 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
6596 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
6597 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
6598 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
6599 dormant articles will also be excluded.
6602 @kindex / m (Summary)
6603 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
6604 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
6605 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
6608 @kindex / t (Summary)
6609 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
6610 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
6611 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
6612 articles younger than that number of days.
6615 @kindex / n (Summary)
6616 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
6617 With prefix @samp{n}, limit the summary buffer to the next @samp{n}
6618 articles. If not given a prefix, use the process marked articles
6619 instead. (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}).
6622 @kindex / w (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
6624 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
6625 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
6629 @kindex / . (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen
6631 Limit the summary buffer to the unseen articles
6632 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unseen}).
6635 @kindex / v (Summary)
6636 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
6637 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
6638 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
6641 @kindex / p (Summary)
6642 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate
6643 Limit the summary buffer to articles that satisfy the @code{display}
6644 group parameter predicate
6645 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-display-predicate}). @xref{Group
6646 Parameters}, for more on this predicate.
6649 @kindex / r (Summary)
6650 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-replied
6651 Limit the summary buffer to replied articles
6652 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-replied}). If given a prefix, exclude
6657 @kindex M S (Summary)
6658 @kindex / E (Summary)
6659 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
6660 Include all expunged articles in the limit
6661 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
6664 @kindex / D (Summary)
6665 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
6666 Include all dormant articles in the limit
6667 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
6670 @kindex / * (Summary)
6671 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
6672 Include all cached articles in the limit
6673 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
6676 @kindex / d (Summary)
6677 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
6678 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
6679 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
6682 @kindex / M (Summary)
6683 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
6684 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
6687 @kindex / T (Summary)
6688 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
6689 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
6692 @kindex / c (Summary)
6693 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
6694 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit@*
6695 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
6698 @kindex / C (Summary)
6699 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
6700 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
6701 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
6702 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
6705 @kindex / b (Summary)
6706 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies
6707 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have bodies that match a
6708 certain regexp (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-bodies}). If given a
6709 prefix, reverse the limit. This command is quite slow since it
6710 requires selecting each article to find the matches.
6713 @kindex / h (Summary)
6714 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-headers
6715 Like the previous command, only limit to headers instead
6716 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-headers}).
6721 The following commands aren't limiting commands, but use the @kbd{/}
6726 @kindex / N (Summary)
6727 @findex gnus-summary-insert-new-articles
6728 Insert all new articles in the summary buffer. It scans for new emails
6729 if @var{back-end}@code{-get-new-mail} is non-@code{nil}.
6732 @kindex / o (Summary)
6733 @findex gnus-summary-insert-old-articles
6734 Insert all old articles in the summary buffer. If given a numbered
6735 prefix, fetch this number of articles.
6743 @cindex article threading
6745 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
6746 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
6747 hierarchical fashion.
6749 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
6750 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
6751 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
6752 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
6753 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
6754 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
6755 @ref{Customizing Threading}.
6757 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
6761 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
6764 A tree-like article structure.
6767 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
6770 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
6771 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
6772 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
6773 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
6774 called loose threads.
6776 @item thread gathering
6777 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
6779 @item sparse threads
6780 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
6781 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
6787 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
6788 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
6792 @node Customizing Threading
6793 @subsection Customizing Threading
6794 @cindex customizing threading
6797 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
6798 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
6799 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
6800 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over@dots{} but you were wrong!
6805 @subsubsection Loose Threads
6808 @cindex loose threads
6811 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
6812 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
6813 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
6814 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
6815 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
6816 read or killed the root in a previous session.
6818 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
6819 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
6820 There are four possible values:
6824 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
6825 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-adopt,width=7.5cm}}
6826 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-empty,width=7.5cm}}}
6827 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-none,width=7.5cm}}}
6828 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=ps/summary-dummy,width=7.5cm}}}
6833 @cindex adopting articles
6838 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
6839 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
6840 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
6841 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
6844 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
6845 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root-always
6846 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
6847 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
6848 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
6849 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
6850 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
6851 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
6852 If you want all threads to have a dummy root, even the non-gathered
6853 ones, set @code{gnus-summary-make-false-root-always} to @code{t}.
6856 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
6857 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
6858 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
6862 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
6863 display them after one another.
6866 Don't gather loose threads.
6869 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6870 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
6871 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
6872 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
6873 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
6874 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
6875 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
6876 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
6877 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
6878 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
6879 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
6881 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
6882 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
6883 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
6886 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6887 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
6888 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
6889 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
6890 simplification is used.
6892 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6893 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6894 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
6895 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
6897 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
6899 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
6905 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
6906 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
6907 "answer" "reference" "announce"
6908 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
6913 (mapconcat 'identity
6914 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
6916 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
6919 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
6922 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6923 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
6924 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
6925 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
6926 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
6927 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
6929 Useful functions to put in this list include:
6932 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
6933 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
6934 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
6936 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6937 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
6940 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
6941 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
6942 Remove excessive whitespace.
6944 @item gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6945 @findex gnus-simplify-all-whitespace
6946 Remove all whitespace.
6949 You may also write your own functions, of course.
6952 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6953 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
6954 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
6955 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
6956 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
6957 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
6958 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
6959 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
6961 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6962 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6963 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
6964 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
6965 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
6966 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
6967 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
6968 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
6969 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
6973 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6974 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
6975 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
6976 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
6978 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6979 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
6980 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
6983 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
6987 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
6988 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
6994 @node Filling In Threads
6995 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
6998 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
6999 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
7000 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
7001 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
7002 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
7003 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
7004 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
7005 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
7006 old headers only works if the back end you are using carries overview
7007 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool},
7008 @code{nnml}, and @code{nnmaildir}. Also remember that if the root of
7009 the thread has been expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can
7012 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
7013 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
7014 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
7016 The server has to support @acronym{NOV} for any of this to work.
7018 @cindex Gmane, gnus-fetch-old-headers
7019 This feature can seriously impact performance it ignores all locally
7020 cached header entries. Setting it to @code{t} for groups for a server
7021 that doesn't expire articles (such as news.gmane.org), leads to very
7022 slow summary generation.
7024 @item gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7025 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-ephemeral-headers
7026 Same as @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}, but only used for ephemeral
7029 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
7030 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
7031 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
7032 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
7033 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
7034 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
7035 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
7036 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
7037 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
7038 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
7039 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
7040 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
7041 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
7042 @code{nil} by default.
7044 @item gnus-read-all-available-headers
7045 @vindex gnus-read-all-available-headers
7046 This is a rather obscure variable that few will find useful. It's
7047 intended for those non-news newsgroups where the back end has to fetch
7048 quite a lot to present the summary buffer, and where it's impossible to
7049 go back to parents of articles. This is mostly the case in the
7052 If you don't use those, then it's safe to leave this as the default
7053 @code{nil}. If you want to use this variable, it should be a regexp
7054 that matches the group name, or @code{t} for all groups.
7059 @node More Threading
7060 @subsubsection More Threading
7063 @item gnus-show-threads
7064 @vindex gnus-show-threads
7065 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
7066 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
7067 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
7068 slower and more awkward.
7070 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7071 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7072 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
7075 This can also be a predicate specifier (@pxref{Predicate Specifiers}).
7076 Available predicates are @code{gnus-article-unread-p} and
7077 @code{gnus-article-unseen-p}.
7082 (setq gnus-thread-hide-subtree
7083 '(or gnus-article-unread-p
7084 gnus-article-unseen-p))
7087 (It's a pretty nonsensical example, since all unseen articles are also
7088 unread, but you get my drift.)
7091 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
7092 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
7093 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
7094 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
7095 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
7096 threads are expunged.
7098 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
7099 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
7100 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
7103 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7104 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
7105 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
7106 this variable is non-@code{nil}, which is the default, the subject
7107 change is ignored. If it is @code{nil}, a change in the subject will
7108 result in a new thread.
7110 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
7111 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
7112 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
7115 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7116 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
7117 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
7118 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
7119 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
7120 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
7121 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
7122 Setting this variable to an alternate value
7123 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
7124 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
7125 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
7130 @node Low-Level Threading
7131 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
7135 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
7136 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
7137 Hook run before parsing any headers.
7139 @item gnus-alter-header-function
7140 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
7141 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
7142 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
7143 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
7144 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
7145 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
7146 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
7147 meaningful. Here's one example:
7150 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
7152 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
7153 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
7155 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
7157 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
7164 @node Thread Commands
7165 @subsection Thread Commands
7166 @cindex thread commands
7172 @kindex T k (Summary)
7173 @kindex C-M-k (Summary)
7174 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
7175 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
7176 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
7177 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
7182 @kindex T l (Summary)
7183 @kindex C-M-l (Summary)
7184 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
7185 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
7186 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
7189 @kindex T i (Summary)
7190 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
7191 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
7192 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
7195 @kindex T # (Summary)
7196 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
7197 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
7198 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
7201 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
7202 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
7203 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
7204 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
7207 @kindex T T (Summary)
7208 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
7209 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
7212 @kindex T s (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
7214 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any@*
7215 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
7218 @kindex T h (Summary)
7219 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
7220 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
7223 @kindex T S (Summary)
7224 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
7225 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
7228 @kindex T H (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
7230 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
7233 @kindex T t (Summary)
7234 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
7235 Re-thread the current article's thread
7236 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
7237 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
7240 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
7242 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
7243 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
7246 @kindex T M-^ (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-children
7248 Make the current article the parent of the marked articles
7249 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-children}).
7253 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
7254 understand the numeric prefix.
7259 @kindex T n (Summary)
7261 @kindex C-M-n (Summary)
7263 @kindex M-down (Summary)
7264 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
7265 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
7268 @kindex T p (Summary)
7270 @kindex C-M-p (Summary)
7272 @kindex M-up (Summary)
7273 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
7274 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
7277 @kindex T d (Summary)
7278 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
7279 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
7282 @kindex T u (Summary)
7283 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
7284 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
7287 @kindex T o (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
7289 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
7292 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
7293 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
7294 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
7295 a command like @kbd{T k} (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
7296 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
7297 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
7298 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
7299 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
7300 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
7301 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
7302 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
7303 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
7307 @node Sorting the Summary Buffer
7308 @section Sorting the Summary Buffer
7310 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
7311 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
7312 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
7313 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7314 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
7315 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient
7316 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7317 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-random
7318 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
7319 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number
7320 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date
7321 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
7322 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
7323 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
7324 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
7326 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
7327 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
7328 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-recipient},
7329 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
7330 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date},
7331 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score},
7332 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number},
7333 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date},
7334 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-random} and
7335 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
7337 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
7338 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
7339 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. Exceptions
7340 to this rule are @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-number} and
7341 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-most-recent-date}.
7343 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
7344 last function in the list. You should probably always include
7345 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
7346 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
7347 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
7348 ascending article order.
7350 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
7351 by number, you could do something like:
7354 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7355 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
7356 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
7357 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
7360 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
7361 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
7362 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
7363 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
7364 which the articles arrived.
7366 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
7370 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
7371 '((not gnus-thread-sort-by-number)
7372 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
7375 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
7376 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
7377 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
7378 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
7381 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
7382 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
7383 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-date
7384 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
7385 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
7386 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
7387 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-random
7388 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
7389 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-most-recent-number
7390 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or
7391 other, you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions}
7392 variable. It is very similar to the
7393 @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that it uses slightly
7394 different functions for article comparison. Available sorting
7395 predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
7396 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author},
7397 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date},
7398 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-random}, and
7399 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
7401 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
7405 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
7406 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
7407 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
7410 You can define group specific sorting via @code{gnus-parameters},
7411 @xref{Group Parameters}.
7414 @node Asynchronous Fetching
7415 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
7416 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
7417 @cindex article pre-fetch
7420 If you read your news from an @acronym{NNTP} server that's far away, the
7421 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
7422 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
7423 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
7424 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
7426 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
7427 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
7429 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
7430 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
7431 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
7432 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
7433 connection is blocked.
7435 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
7436 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
7437 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
7438 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
7440 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
7441 the link between your machine and the @acronym{NNTP} server will become more
7442 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
7443 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
7446 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing@dots{} unless
7449 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
7450 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
7451 happen automatically.
7453 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
7454 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
7455 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
7456 that when you read an article in the group, the back end will pre-fetch
7457 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the back end will
7458 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
7459 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
7461 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
7462 @findex gnus-async-unread-p
7463 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
7464 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p}
7465 variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This
7466 function should return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is
7467 to be pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-unread-p}, which
7468 returns @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an
7469 article data structure as the only parameter.
7471 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
7472 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
7475 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
7476 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
7477 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
7478 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
7481 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
7484 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
7485 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
7486 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
7488 @vindex gnus-async-post-fetch-function
7489 @findex gnus-html-prefetch-images
7490 After an article has been prefetched, this
7491 @code{gnus-async-post-fetch-function} will be called. The buffer will
7492 be narrowed to the region of the article that was fetched. A useful
7493 value would be @code{gnus-html-prefetch-images}, which will prefetch
7494 and store images referenced in the article, so that you don't have to
7495 wait for them to be fetched when you read the article. This is useful
7496 for @acronym{HTML} messages that have external images.
7498 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
7499 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
7500 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
7501 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
7505 Remove articles when they are read.
7508 Remove articles when exiting the group.
7511 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
7513 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
7514 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
7515 @c from the next group.
7518 @node Article Caching
7519 @section Article Caching
7520 @cindex article caching
7523 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @acronym{NNTP} connection, you may
7524 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
7525 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
7526 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
7527 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
7529 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
7531 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
7532 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
7533 @vindex gnus-use-cache
7534 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
7535 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
7536 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
7537 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
7538 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
7540 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
7541 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
7542 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
7543 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
7544 as dormant, and don't worry.
7546 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
7548 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
7549 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
7550 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
7551 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
7552 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
7553 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
7554 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
7555 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
7556 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
7557 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
7559 @findex gnus-jog-cache
7560 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
7561 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
7562 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
7563 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
7564 command if 1) your connection to the @acronym{NNTP} server is really, really,
7565 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
7566 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
7567 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
7568 not then be downloaded by this command.
7570 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
7571 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
7572 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
7573 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
7574 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
7575 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
7577 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
7578 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
7579 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
7580 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
7581 variables, the group is not cached.
7583 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
7584 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
7585 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
7586 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
7587 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
7588 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
7589 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
7590 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @acronym{NOV}
7591 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
7594 @findex gnus-cache-move-cache
7595 @code{gnus-cache-move-cache} will move your whole
7596 @code{gnus-cache-directory} to some other location. You get asked to
7597 where, isn't that cool?
7599 @node Persistent Articles
7600 @section Persistent Articles
7601 @cindex persistent articles
7603 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
7604 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
7605 useful in my opinion.
7607 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
7608 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
7609 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
7610 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
7611 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
7612 the expiry going on at the news server.
7614 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
7615 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
7616 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
7622 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
7623 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
7626 @kindex M-* (Summary)
7627 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
7628 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
7629 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
7633 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
7635 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
7636 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
7637 interested in persistent articles:
7640 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
7643 @node Sticky Articles
7644 @section Sticky Articles
7645 @cindex sticky articles
7647 When you select an article the current article buffer will be reused
7648 according to the value of the variable
7649 @code{gnus-single-article-buffer}. If its value is non-@code{nil} (the
7650 default) all articles reuse the same article buffer. Else each group
7651 has its own article buffer.
7653 This implies that it's not possible to have more than one article buffer
7654 in a group at a time. But sometimes you might want to display all the
7655 latest emails from your mother, your father, your aunt, your uncle and
7656 your 17 cousins to coordinate the next Christmas party.
7658 That's where sticky articles come in handy. A sticky article buffer
7659 basically is a normal article buffer, but it won't be reused when you
7660 select another article. You can make an article sticky with:
7664 @kindex A S (Summary)
7665 @findex gnus-sticky-article
7666 Make the current article sticky. If a prefix arg is given, ask for a
7667 name for this sticky article buffer.
7670 To close a sticky article buffer you can use these commands:
7676 Puts this sticky article buffer at the end of the list of all buffers.
7680 @findex gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffer
7681 Kills this sticky article buffer.
7684 To kill all sticky article buffers you can use:
7686 @defun gnus-kill-sticky-article-buffers ARG
7687 Kill all sticky article buffers.
7688 If a prefix ARG is given, ask for confirmation.
7691 @node Article Backlog
7692 @section Article Backlog
7694 @cindex article backlog
7696 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
7697 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
7698 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
7699 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
7700 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
7701 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
7702 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
7703 increase memory usage some.
7705 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
7706 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
7707 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
7708 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
7709 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
7710 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
7711 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
7713 The default value is 20.
7716 @node Saving Articles
7717 @section Saving Articles
7718 @cindex saving articles
7720 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
7721 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
7722 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
7723 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
7724 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
7726 For the commands listed here, the target is a file. If you want to
7727 save to a group, see the @kbd{B c} (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article})
7728 command (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
7730 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
7731 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
7732 unwanted headers before saving the article.
7734 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
7735 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
7736 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
7737 deleted before saving.
7743 @kindex O o (Summary)
7745 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
7746 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
7747 Save the current article using the default article saver
7748 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
7751 @kindex O m (Summary)
7752 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
7753 Save the current article in a Unix mail box (mbox) file
7754 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
7757 @kindex O r (Summary)
7758 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
7759 Save the current article in Rmail format
7760 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}). This is mbox since Emacs 23,
7761 Babyl in older versions.
7764 @kindex O f (Summary)
7765 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
7766 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
7767 Save the current article in plain file format
7768 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
7771 @kindex O F (Summary)
7772 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
7773 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
7774 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
7777 @kindex O b (Summary)
7778 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
7779 Save the current article body in plain file format
7780 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
7783 @kindex O h (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
7785 Save the current article in mh folder format
7786 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
7789 @kindex O v (Summary)
7790 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
7791 Save the current article in a VM folder
7792 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
7796 @kindex O p (Summary)
7798 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
7799 @vindex gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command
7800 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
7801 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
7802 If given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), include the
7803 complete headers in the piped output. The symbolic prefix @code{r} is
7804 special; it lets this command pipe a raw article including all headers.
7805 The @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} variable can be set
7806 to a string containing the default command and options (default
7810 @kindex O P (Summary)
7811 @findex gnus-summary-muttprint
7812 @vindex gnus-summary-muttprint-program
7813 Save the current article into muttprint. That is, print it using the
7814 external program @uref{http://muttprint.sourceforge.net/,
7815 Muttprint}. The program name and options to use is controlled by the
7816 variable @code{gnus-summary-muttprint-program}.
7817 (@code{gnus-summary-muttprint}).
7821 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
7822 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
7823 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
7824 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
7825 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
7826 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
7827 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
7828 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
7829 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
7830 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
7831 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
7832 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
7836 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
7837 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
7838 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the eight ready-made
7839 functions below, or you can create your own.
7843 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7844 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
7845 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
7846 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7847 This is the default format, that used by the Rmail package. Since Emacs
7848 23, Rmail uses standard mbox format. Before this, it used the
7849 @dfn{Babyl} format. Accordingly, this command writes mbox format since
7850 Emacs 23, unless appending to an existing Babyl file. In older versions
7851 of Emacs, it always uses Babyl format. Uses the function in the
7852 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7853 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7855 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7856 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
7857 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
7858 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
7859 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7860 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
7862 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
7863 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
7864 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
7865 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7866 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
7867 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7868 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7870 @item gnus-summary-write-to-file
7871 @findex gnus-summary-write-to-file
7872 Write the article straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7873 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7874 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7875 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7877 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7878 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
7879 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
7880 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7881 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7883 @item gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7884 @findex gnus-summary-write-body-to-file
7885 Write the article body straight to an ordinary file. The file is
7886 overwritten if it exists. Uses the function in the
7887 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
7888 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
7890 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7891 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
7892 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
7893 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
7894 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
7897 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
7898 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
7899 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
7900 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
7901 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
7903 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7904 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
7905 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
7906 reader to use this setting.
7908 @item gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7909 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-pipe
7910 Pipe the article to a shell command. This function takes optional two
7911 arguments COMMAND and RAW. Valid values for COMMAND include:
7915 The executable command name and possibly arguments.
7917 You will be prompted for the command in the minibuffer.
7918 @item the symbol @code{default}@*
7919 It will be replaced with the command which the variable
7920 @code{gnus-summary-pipe-output-default-command} holds or the command
7921 last used for saving.
7924 Non-@code{nil} value for RAW overrides @code{:decode} and
7925 @code{:headers} properties (see below) and the raw article including all
7926 headers will be piped.
7929 The symbol of each function may have the following properties:
7933 The value non-@code{nil} means save decoded articles. This is
7934 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-save-in-file},
7935 @code{gnus-summary-save-body-in-file},
7936 @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file},
7937 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}, and
7938 @code{gnus-summary-save-in-pipe}.
7941 The value specifies an alternative function which appends, not
7942 overwrites, articles to a file. This implies that when saving many
7943 articles at a time, @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} is bound to
7944 @code{t} and all articles are saved in a single file. This is
7945 meaningful only with @code{gnus-summary-write-to-file} and
7946 @code{gnus-summary-write-body-to-file}.
7949 The value specifies the symbol of a variable of which the value
7950 specifies headers to be saved. If it is omitted,
7951 @code{gnus-save-all-headers} and @code{gnus-saved-headers} control what
7952 headers should be saved.
7955 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
7956 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
7957 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
7958 @env{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
7961 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
7962 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
7963 available functions that generate names:
7967 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
7968 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
7969 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7971 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
7972 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
7973 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
7975 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
7976 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
7977 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7979 @item gnus-plain-save-name
7980 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
7981 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
7983 @item gnus-sender-save-name
7984 @findex gnus-sender-save-name
7985 File names like @file{~/News/larsi}.
7988 @vindex gnus-split-methods
7989 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
7990 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
7991 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
7992 related to VM in @file{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
7996 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
7997 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
7998 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
7999 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
8002 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
8003 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
8004 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
8005 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
8006 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
8007 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
8008 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
8009 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
8010 called returns a string or a list of strings.
8012 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
8013 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
8014 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
8015 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
8017 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
8018 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
8019 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
8022 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
8023 lots of mail groups called things like
8024 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
8025 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
8026 following will do just that:
8029 (defun my-save-name (group)
8030 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
8031 (substring group (match-end 0))))
8033 (setq gnus-split-methods
8034 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
8039 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
8040 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
8041 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
8042 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
8043 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
8044 all the files in the top level directory
8045 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
8046 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
8047 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
8048 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
8050 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
8051 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
8052 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
8053 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
8054 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
8057 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
8061 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; @r{to get a hierarchy}
8062 (setq gnus-default-article-saver
8063 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; @r{no encoding}
8066 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
8067 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
8068 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
8069 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
8072 @node Decoding Articles
8073 @section Decoding Articles
8074 @cindex decoding articles
8076 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
8077 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
8080 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
8081 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
8082 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
8083 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
8084 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
8085 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
8089 @cindex article series
8090 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
8091 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
8092 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
8093 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
8094 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
8096 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
8097 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
8098 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
8100 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
8101 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
8102 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
8104 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
8105 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
8106 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
8109 @node Uuencoded Articles
8110 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
8112 @cindex uuencoded articles
8117 @kindex X u (Summary)
8118 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
8119 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
8120 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
8123 @kindex X U (Summary)
8124 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
8125 Uudecodes and saves the current series
8126 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8129 @kindex X v u (Summary)
8130 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
8131 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
8134 @kindex X v U (Summary)
8135 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
8136 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
8137 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
8141 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
8142 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
8143 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
8144 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
8145 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
8147 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
8148 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
8149 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
8150 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
8153 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
8154 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
8155 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
8156 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
8157 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
8158 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
8162 @node Shell Archives
8163 @subsection Shell Archives
8165 @cindex shell archives
8166 @cindex shared articles
8168 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
8169 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
8170 some commands to deal with these:
8175 @kindex X s (Summary)
8176 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
8177 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
8180 @kindex X S (Summary)
8181 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
8182 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
8185 @kindex X v s (Summary)
8186 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
8187 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
8190 @kindex X v S (Summary)
8191 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
8192 Unshars, views and saves the current series
8193 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
8197 @node PostScript Files
8198 @subsection PostScript Files
8204 @kindex X p (Summary)
8205 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
8206 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
8209 @kindex X P (Summary)
8210 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
8211 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
8212 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
8215 @kindex X v p (Summary)
8216 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
8217 View the current PostScript series
8218 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
8221 @kindex X v P (Summary)
8222 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
8223 View and save the current PostScript series
8224 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
8229 @subsection Other Files
8233 @kindex X o (Summary)
8234 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
8235 Save the current series
8236 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
8239 @kindex X b (Summary)
8240 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
8241 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
8242 doesn't really work yet.
8245 @kindex X Y (Summary)
8246 @findex gnus-uu-decode-yenc
8247 yEnc-decode the current series and save it (@code{gnus-uu-decode-yenc}).
8251 @node Decoding Variables
8252 @subsection Decoding Variables
8254 Adjective, not verb.
8257 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
8258 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
8259 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
8263 @node Rule Variables
8264 @subsubsection Rule Variables
8265 @cindex rule variables
8267 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
8268 variables are of the form
8271 (list '(regexp1 command2)
8278 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8279 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8281 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
8282 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @file{.au} sound file, you could
8285 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
8286 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
8289 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8290 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
8291 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
8292 user and default view rules.
8294 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8295 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
8296 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
8301 @node Other Decode Variables
8302 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
8305 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8307 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
8308 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
8309 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
8310 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
8311 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
8315 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
8316 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
8319 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
8320 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
8321 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
8324 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8325 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
8326 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
8327 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
8328 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
8331 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8332 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
8333 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
8335 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8336 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
8337 Files with a @acronym{MIME} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
8338 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
8339 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @acronym{MIME} package (yet), so this is slightly
8342 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8343 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
8344 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
8346 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8347 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
8348 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
8349 looking for files to display.
8351 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
8352 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
8353 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
8356 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8357 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
8358 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
8361 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8362 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
8363 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
8366 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8367 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
8368 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
8371 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8372 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
8373 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
8374 decoded articles as unread.
8376 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8377 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
8378 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
8379 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
8381 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8382 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
8383 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
8385 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8386 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
8388 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
8389 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @acronym{MIME}
8390 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
8391 @code{metamail} for viewing.
8393 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8394 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
8395 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
8396 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
8397 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
8398 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
8399 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
8400 simply dropped them.
8405 @node Uuencoding and Posting
8406 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
8410 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8411 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
8412 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
8413 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
8414 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
8415 for you when you post the article.
8417 @item gnus-uu-post-length
8418 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
8419 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
8420 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
8422 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
8423 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
8424 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
8425 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
8426 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
8427 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
8428 think that counts@dots{}) Default is @code{nil}.
8430 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8431 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
8432 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
8433 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
8434 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
8435 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
8436 Default is @code{t}.
8442 @subsection Viewing Files
8443 @cindex viewing files
8444 @cindex pseudo-articles
8446 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
8447 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
8448 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
8449 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
8450 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
8451 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
8452 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
8454 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
8455 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
8456 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
8457 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
8459 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
8460 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
8461 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
8463 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
8464 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
8465 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
8466 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
8467 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
8469 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
8470 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
8471 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
8472 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
8473 a list of parameters to that command.
8475 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
8476 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
8477 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
8479 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
8480 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
8481 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
8484 @node Article Treatment
8485 @section Article Treatment
8487 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
8488 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
8489 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
8490 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
8491 these articles easier.
8494 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
8495 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
8496 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
8497 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
8498 * Article Header:: Doing various header transformations.
8499 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
8500 * Article Button Levels:: Controlling appearance of buttons.
8501 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
8502 * Article Display:: Display various stuff:
8503 X-Face, Picons, Gravatars, Smileys.
8504 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
8505 * Article Miscellanea:: Various other stuff.
8509 @node Article Highlighting
8510 @subsection Article Highlighting
8511 @cindex highlighting
8513 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
8514 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
8519 @kindex W H a (Summary)
8520 @findex gnus-article-highlight
8521 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8522 Do much highlighting of the current article
8523 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
8524 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
8527 @kindex W H h (Summary)
8528 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
8529 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
8530 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
8531 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
8532 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
8533 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
8534 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
8535 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
8536 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
8537 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
8538 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
8541 @kindex W H c (Summary)
8542 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
8543 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
8545 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
8548 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8550 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
8551 If the article size in bytes is bigger than this variable (which is
8552 25000 by default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
8554 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
8555 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
8556 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
8558 @item gnus-cite-face-list
8559 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
8560 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
8561 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
8562 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
8563 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
8565 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
8566 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
8567 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
8569 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8570 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
8571 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
8573 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8574 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
8575 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
8576 that it's a citation.
8578 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8579 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
8580 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
8582 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8583 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
8584 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
8586 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
8587 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
8588 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
8589 cited text belonging to the attribution.
8591 @item gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8592 @vindex gnus-cite-ignore-quoted-from
8593 If non-@code{nil}, no citation highlighting will be performed on lines
8594 beginning with @samp{>From }. Those lines may have been quoted by MTAs
8595 in order not to mix up with the envelope From line. The default value
8602 @kindex W H s (Summary)
8603 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
8604 @vindex gnus-signature-face
8605 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
8606 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
8607 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
8608 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
8609 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by