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265 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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274 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
276 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
277 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
278 are preserved on all copies.
280 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
281 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
282 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
283 permission notice identical to this one.
285 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
286 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
295 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
297 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
299 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
300 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
301 are preserved on all copies.
304 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
305 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
306 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
307 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
310 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
311 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
312 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
313 permission notice identical to this one.
315 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
316 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
324 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
327 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
328 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
330 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
331 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
332 are preserved on all copies.
334 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
335 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
336 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
337 permission notice identical to this one.
339 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
340 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
349 @top The Gnus Newsreader
353 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
354 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
355 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
358 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.6.
369 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
370 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
372 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
373 being accused of plagiarism:
375 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
376 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
377 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
378 can even read news with it!
380 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
381 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
382 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
383 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
384 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
390 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
391 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
392 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
393 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
394 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
395 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
396 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
397 * Various:: General purpose settings.
398 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
399 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
400 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
401 * Key Index:: Key Index.
404 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
408 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
409 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
410 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
411 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
412 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
413 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
414 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
415 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
416 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
417 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
418 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
422 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
423 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
424 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
428 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
429 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
430 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
431 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
432 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
433 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
434 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
435 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
436 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
437 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
438 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
439 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
440 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
441 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
442 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
443 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
444 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
448 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
449 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
450 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
454 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
455 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
456 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
457 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
458 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
462 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
463 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
464 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
465 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
469 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
470 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
471 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
472 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
473 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
474 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
475 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
476 * Threading:: How threads are made.
477 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
478 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
479 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
480 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
481 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
482 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
483 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
484 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
485 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
486 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
487 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
488 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
489 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
490 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
491 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
492 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
493 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
494 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
495 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
496 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
498 Summary Buffer Format
500 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
501 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
502 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
503 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
507 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
508 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
510 Reply, Followup and Post
512 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
513 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
514 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
515 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
519 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
520 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
521 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
525 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
526 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
527 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
531 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
532 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
534 Customizing Threading
536 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
537 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
538 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
539 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
543 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
544 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
545 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
546 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
547 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
548 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
552 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
553 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
554 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
558 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
559 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
560 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
561 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
562 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
563 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
564 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
565 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
567 Alternative Approaches
569 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
570 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
572 Various Summary Stuff
574 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
575 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
576 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
577 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
581 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
582 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
583 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
584 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
585 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
589 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
590 * Post:: Posting and following up.
591 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
592 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
593 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
594 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
595 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
596 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
600 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
601 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
602 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
603 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
604 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
605 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
606 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
610 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
611 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
612 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
613 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
614 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
615 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
616 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
620 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
621 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
625 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
626 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
627 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
628 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
629 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
630 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
631 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
632 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
633 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
634 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
635 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
636 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
637 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
641 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
642 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
643 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
645 Choosing a Mail Backend
647 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
648 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
649 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
650 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
651 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
652 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
656 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
657 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
658 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
659 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
663 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
664 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
665 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
666 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
667 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
668 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
672 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
676 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
677 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
678 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
682 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
683 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
684 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
688 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
689 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
693 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
694 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
695 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
696 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
697 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
698 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
699 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
700 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
701 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
705 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
706 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
707 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
711 * Group Agent Commands::
712 * Summary Agent Commands::
713 * Server Agent Commands::
717 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
718 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
719 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
720 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
721 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
722 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
723 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
724 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
725 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
726 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
727 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
728 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
729 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
730 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
731 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
732 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
736 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
737 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
738 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
739 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
743 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
744 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
745 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
749 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
750 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
751 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
752 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
753 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
754 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
755 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
756 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
757 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
758 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
759 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
760 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
761 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
762 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
763 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
764 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
765 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
766 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
770 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
771 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
772 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
773 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
774 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
778 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
779 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
780 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
781 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
785 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
786 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
787 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
788 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
789 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
793 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
794 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
795 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
796 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
797 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
798 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
799 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
800 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
804 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
805 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
806 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
807 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
808 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
809 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
810 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
811 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
812 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
813 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
817 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
818 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
819 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
820 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
824 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
825 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
826 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
827 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
831 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
832 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
833 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
834 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
835 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
836 * Group Info:: The group info format.
837 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
838 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
839 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
843 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
844 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
845 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
846 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
847 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
848 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
852 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
853 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
857 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
858 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
864 @chapter Starting Gnus
869 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
870 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
873 @findex gnus-other-frame
874 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
875 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
876 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
878 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
879 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
880 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
882 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
883 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
886 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
887 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
888 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
889 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
890 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
891 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
892 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
893 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
894 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
895 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
896 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
900 @node Finding the News
901 @section Finding the News
904 @vindex gnus-select-method
906 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
907 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
908 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
909 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
912 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
913 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
916 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
919 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
922 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
925 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
926 certainly be much faster.
928 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
930 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
931 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
932 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
933 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
934 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
935 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
937 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
938 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
939 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
940 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
942 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
943 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
944 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
945 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
946 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
947 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
948 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
949 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
950 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
953 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
955 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
956 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
957 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
958 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
959 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
960 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
962 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
964 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
965 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
966 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
967 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
968 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
969 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
972 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
973 would typically set this variable to
976 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
981 @section The First Time
982 @cindex first time usage
984 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
985 be subscribed by default.
987 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
988 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
989 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
990 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
993 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
994 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
995 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
997 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
998 help you with most common problems.
1000 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1001 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1005 @node The Server is Down
1006 @section The Server is Down
1007 @cindex server errors
1009 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1010 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1011 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1013 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1014 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1015 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1016 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1017 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1018 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1019 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1021 @findex gnus-no-server
1022 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1024 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1025 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1026 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1027 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1028 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1029 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1034 @section Slave Gnusae
1037 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1038 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1039 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1040 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1042 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1043 @code{.newsrc} file.
1045 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1046 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1047 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1048 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1049 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1050 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1051 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1053 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1054 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1055 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1056 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1057 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1058 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1059 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1060 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1062 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1063 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1066 @node Fetching a Group
1067 @section Fetching a Group
1068 @cindex fetching a group
1070 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1071 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1072 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1073 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1074 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1075 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1081 @cindex subscription
1083 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1084 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1085 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1086 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1087 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1088 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1089 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1090 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1091 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1094 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1095 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1096 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1100 @node Checking New Groups
1101 @subsection Checking New Groups
1103 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1104 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1105 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1106 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1107 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1108 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1109 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1110 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1111 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1112 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1114 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1115 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1116 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1117 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1118 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1119 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1120 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1121 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1122 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1123 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1124 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1126 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1127 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1128 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1129 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1130 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1131 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1134 @node Subscription Methods
1135 @subsection Subscription Methods
1137 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1138 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1139 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1141 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1142 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1144 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1148 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1149 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1150 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1151 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1152 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1154 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1155 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1156 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1157 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1159 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1160 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1161 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1163 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1164 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1165 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1166 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1167 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1168 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1169 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1170 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1171 up. Or something like that.
1173 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1174 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1175 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1176 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1177 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1179 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1180 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1181 Kill all new groups.
1183 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1184 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1185 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1186 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1187 topic parameter that looks like
1193 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1196 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1202 A closely related variable is
1203 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1204 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1205 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1206 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1209 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1210 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1211 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1212 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1215 @node Filtering New Groups
1216 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1218 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1219 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1220 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1223 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1227 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1228 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1229 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1230 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1231 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1232 subscribing these groups.
1233 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1234 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1236 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1237 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1238 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1239 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1240 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1241 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1242 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1243 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1245 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1246 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1247 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1248 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1249 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1250 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1251 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1252 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1253 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1254 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1256 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1260 @node Changing Servers
1261 @section Changing Servers
1262 @cindex changing servers
1264 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1265 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1266 very flaky and you want to use another.
1268 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1269 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1273 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1274 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1275 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1276 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1279 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1280 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1281 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1282 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1284 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1285 @findex gnus-change-server
1286 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1287 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1288 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1289 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1290 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1292 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1293 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1294 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1295 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1296 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1298 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1299 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1300 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1301 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1302 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1303 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1305 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1306 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1307 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1311 @section Startup Files
1312 @cindex startup files
1317 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1318 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1320 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1321 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1322 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1323 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1324 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1325 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1326 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1328 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1329 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1330 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1331 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1332 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1333 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1335 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1336 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1337 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1338 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1339 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1340 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1341 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1342 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1343 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1344 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1346 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1347 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1348 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1349 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1350 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1351 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1352 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1353 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1354 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1355 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1356 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1357 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1359 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1360 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1361 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1362 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1364 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1365 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1366 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1367 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1368 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1369 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1370 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1371 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1372 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1373 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1376 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1377 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1379 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1380 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1383 @vindex gnus-init-file
1384 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1385 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1386 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1387 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1388 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1389 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1390 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1391 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1392 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1398 @cindex dribble file
1401 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1402 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1403 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1404 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1405 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1408 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1409 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1412 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1413 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1414 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1416 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1417 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1418 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1419 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1420 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1421 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1423 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1424 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1425 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1428 @node The Active File
1429 @section The Active File
1431 @cindex ignored groups
1433 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1434 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1435 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1437 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1438 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1439 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1440 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1441 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1442 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1443 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1446 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1447 @c if you set it to anything else.
1449 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1451 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1452 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1453 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1455 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1456 you actually subscribe to.
1458 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1459 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1460 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1461 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1463 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1464 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1465 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1466 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1467 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1468 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1470 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1471 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1472 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1474 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1475 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1476 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1477 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1478 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1479 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1481 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1482 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1484 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1485 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1487 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1488 secondary select methods.
1491 @node Startup Variables
1492 @section Startup Variables
1496 @item gnus-load-hook
1497 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1498 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1499 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1500 times you start Gnus.
1502 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1503 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1504 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1506 @item gnus-startup-hook
1507 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1508 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1510 @item gnus-started-hook
1511 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1512 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1515 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1516 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1517 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1518 generating the group buffer.
1520 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1521 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1522 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1523 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1524 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1525 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1526 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1527 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1529 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1530 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1531 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1532 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1533 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1534 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1536 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1537 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1538 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1540 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1541 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1542 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1544 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1545 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1546 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1547 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1552 @node The Group Buffer
1553 @chapter The Group Buffer
1554 @cindex group buffer
1556 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1557 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1558 long as Gnus is active.
1562 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1563 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1564 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1565 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1566 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1567 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1568 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1569 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1575 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1576 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1577 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1578 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1579 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1580 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1581 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1582 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1583 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1584 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1585 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1586 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1587 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1588 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1589 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1590 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1591 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1595 @node Group Buffer Format
1596 @section Group Buffer Format
1599 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1600 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1601 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1605 @node Group Line Specification
1606 @subsection Group Line Specification
1607 @cindex group buffer format
1609 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1610 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1612 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1615 25: news.announce.newusers
1616 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1621 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1622 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1623 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1624 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1626 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1627 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1628 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1629 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1630 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1631 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1633 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1635 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1636 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1637 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1638 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1641 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1642 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1643 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1645 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1650 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1653 Whether the group is subscribed.
1656 Level of subscribedness.
1659 Number of unread articles.
1662 Number of dormant articles.
1665 Number of ticked articles.
1668 Number of read articles.
1671 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1672 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1675 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1678 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1687 Newsgroup description.
1690 @samp{m} if moderated.
1693 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1702 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1706 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1709 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1710 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1711 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1712 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1713 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1716 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1718 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1722 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1726 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1727 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1728 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1729 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1730 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1731 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1736 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1737 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1738 group, or a bogus native group.
1741 @node Group Modeline Specification
1742 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1743 @cindex group modeline
1745 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1746 The mode line can be changed by setting
1747 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1748 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1752 The native news server.
1754 The native select method.
1758 @node Group Highlighting
1759 @subsection Group Highlighting
1760 @cindex highlighting
1761 @cindex group highlighting
1763 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1764 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1765 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1766 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1767 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1769 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1773 (cond (window-system
1774 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1775 (defface my-group-face-1
1776 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1777 (defface my-group-face-2
1778 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1779 (defface my-group-face-3
1780 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1781 (defface my-group-face-4
1782 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1783 (defface my-group-face-5
1784 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1786 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1787 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1788 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1789 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1790 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1791 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1794 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1796 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1803 The number of unread articles in the group.
1807 Whether the group is a mail group.
1809 The level of the group.
1811 The score of the group.
1813 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1815 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1816 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1818 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1819 topic being inserted.
1822 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1823 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1824 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1826 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1827 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1828 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1829 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1830 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1833 @node Group Maneuvering
1834 @section Group Maneuvering
1835 @cindex group movement
1837 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1838 expected, hopefully.
1844 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1845 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1846 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1852 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1853 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1854 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1858 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1859 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1863 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1864 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1868 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1869 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1870 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1874 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1875 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1876 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1879 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1885 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1886 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1887 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1892 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1893 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1894 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1898 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1899 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1900 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1903 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1904 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1905 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1906 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1910 @node Selecting a Group
1911 @section Selecting a Group
1912 @cindex group selection
1917 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1918 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1919 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1920 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1921 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1922 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1923 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1924 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1925 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1926 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1930 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1931 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1932 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1933 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1934 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1938 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1939 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1940 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1941 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1942 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1943 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1944 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1945 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1946 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1947 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1950 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1951 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1952 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1953 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1954 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1957 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1958 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1959 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1960 doing any processing of its contents
1961 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1962 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1963 manner will have no permanent effects.
1967 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1968 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1969 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1970 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1971 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1972 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1973 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1974 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1977 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1978 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1979 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1980 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1985 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1986 full summary buffer.
1989 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1992 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1997 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1998 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1999 Useful functions include:
2002 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2003 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2004 don't select the article.
2006 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2007 Select the first unread article.
2009 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2010 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2014 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2015 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2016 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2020 @node Subscription Commands
2021 @section Subscription Commands
2022 @cindex subscription
2030 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2031 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2032 Toggle subscription to the current group
2033 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2040 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2041 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2042 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2048 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2049 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2050 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2056 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2057 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2060 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2062 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2063 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2064 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2070 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2071 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2075 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2076 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2079 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2081 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2082 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2083 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2084 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2085 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2086 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2087 @file{.newsrc} file.
2091 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2101 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2102 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2103 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2104 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2105 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2106 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2111 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2112 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2113 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2117 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2118 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2119 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2121 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2122 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2123 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2124 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2125 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2126 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2133 @section Group Levels
2137 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2138 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2139 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2140 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2141 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2143 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2149 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2150 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2151 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2152 prompted for a level.
2155 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2156 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2157 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2158 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2159 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2160 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2161 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2162 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2163 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2164 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2165 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2166 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2167 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2168 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2169 reasons of efficiency.
2171 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2172 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2174 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2175 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2176 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2178 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2179 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2180 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2181 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2182 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2183 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2184 relevant valid ranges.
2186 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2187 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2188 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2189 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2190 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2191 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2194 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2195 one with the best level.
2197 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2198 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2199 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2202 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2203 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2204 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2205 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2208 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2209 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2210 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2211 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2213 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2214 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2215 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2216 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2217 to 5. The default is 6.
2221 @section Group Score
2226 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2227 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2228 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2231 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2232 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2233 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2234 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2235 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2236 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2237 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2238 least significant part.))
2240 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2241 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2242 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2243 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2244 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2245 action after each summary exit, you can add
2246 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2247 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2248 slow things down somewhat.
2251 @node Marking Groups
2252 @section Marking Groups
2253 @cindex marking groups
2255 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2256 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2257 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2258 bidding on those groups.
2260 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2261 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2262 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2270 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2271 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2277 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2278 Remove the mark from the current group
2279 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2283 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2284 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2288 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2289 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2293 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2294 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2298 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2299 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2300 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2303 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2305 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2306 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2307 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2308 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2309 the command to be executed.
2312 @node Foreign Groups
2313 @section Foreign Groups
2314 @cindex foreign groups
2316 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2317 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2318 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2319 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2326 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2327 @cindex making groups
2328 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2329 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2330 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2334 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2335 @cindex renaming groups
2336 Rename the current group to something else
2337 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2338 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2344 @findex gnus-group-customize
2345 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2349 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2350 @cindex renaming groups
2351 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2352 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2356 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2357 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2358 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2362 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2363 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2364 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2368 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2370 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2371 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2376 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2377 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2381 @cindex (ding) archive
2382 @cindex archive group
2383 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2384 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2385 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2386 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2387 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2388 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2389 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2393 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2395 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2396 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2397 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2398 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2402 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2404 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2405 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2406 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2410 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2411 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2413 Make a group based on some file or other
2414 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2415 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2416 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2417 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2418 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2419 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2420 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2424 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2425 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2426 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2427 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2431 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2436 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2437 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2438 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2439 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2440 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2441 @xref{Web Searches}.
2443 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2444 to a particular group by using a match string like
2445 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2448 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2449 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2450 This function will delete the current group
2451 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2452 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2453 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2454 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2455 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2459 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2460 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2461 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2465 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2466 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2467 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2470 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2473 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2474 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2475 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2476 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2477 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2478 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2482 @node Group Parameters
2483 @section Group Parameters
2484 @cindex group parameters
2486 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2487 Here's an example group parameter list:
2490 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2494 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2495 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2496 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2497 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2499 The following group parameters can be used:
2504 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2507 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2510 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2511 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2512 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2513 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2514 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2516 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2517 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2518 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2519 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2520 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2521 list address instead.
2525 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2528 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2531 It is totally ignored
2532 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2533 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2535 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2536 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2537 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2538 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2539 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2541 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2542 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2543 sending the message.
2547 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2548 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2549 of whether it has any unread articles.
2551 @item broken-reply-to
2552 @cindex broken-reply-to
2553 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2554 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2555 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2556 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2557 broken behavior. So there!
2561 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2562 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2566 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2567 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2568 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2573 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2574 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2575 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2576 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2577 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2578 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2579 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2583 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2584 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2585 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2588 @cindex total-expire
2589 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2590 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2591 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2592 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2597 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2598 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2599 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2600 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2601 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2602 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2605 @cindex score file group parameter
2606 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2607 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2608 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2611 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2612 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2613 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2614 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2617 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2618 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2619 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2620 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2623 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2624 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2628 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2631 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2636 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2637 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2638 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2642 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2643 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2644 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2646 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2647 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2648 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2649 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2650 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2651 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2652 @code{eval}ed there.
2654 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2655 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2656 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2657 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2658 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2661 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2662 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2663 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2664 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2665 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2667 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2668 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2669 like this in the group parameters:
2674 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2679 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2680 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2684 @node Listing Groups
2685 @section Listing Groups
2686 @cindex group listing
2688 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2696 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2697 List all groups that have unread articles
2698 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2699 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2700 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2701 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2708 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2709 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2710 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2711 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2712 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2713 unsubscribed groups).
2717 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2718 List all unread groups on a specific level
2719 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2720 with no unread articles.
2724 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2725 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2726 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2727 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2732 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2733 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2737 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2738 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2739 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2743 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2744 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2748 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2749 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2750 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2751 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2752 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2753 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2754 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2755 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2759 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2760 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2761 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2765 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2766 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2767 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2771 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2772 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2776 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2777 @cindex visible group parameter
2778 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2779 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2780 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2781 get the same effect.
2783 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2784 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2785 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2786 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2787 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2790 @node Sorting Groups
2791 @section Sorting Groups
2792 @cindex sorting groups
2794 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2795 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2796 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2797 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2798 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2799 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2804 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2805 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2806 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2808 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2809 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2810 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2812 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2813 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2814 Sort by group level.
2816 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2817 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2818 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2820 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2821 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2822 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2823 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2825 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2826 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2827 Sort by number of unread articles.
2829 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2830 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2831 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2836 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2837 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2841 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2842 some sorting criteria:
2846 @kindex G S a (Group)
2847 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2848 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2849 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2852 @kindex G S u (Group)
2853 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2854 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2855 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2858 @kindex G S l (Group)
2859 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2860 Sort the group buffer by group level
2861 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2864 @kindex G S v (Group)
2865 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2866 Sort the group buffer by group score
2867 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2870 @kindex G S r (Group)
2871 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2872 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2873 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2876 @kindex G S m (Group)
2877 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2878 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2879 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2883 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2884 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2886 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2887 commands will sort in reverse order.
2889 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2893 @kindex G P a (Group)
2894 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2895 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2896 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2899 @kindex G P u (Group)
2900 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2901 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2902 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2905 @kindex G P l (Group)
2906 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2907 Sort the groups by group level
2908 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2911 @kindex G P v (Group)
2912 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2913 Sort the groups by group score
2914 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2917 @kindex G P r (Group)
2918 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2919 Sort the groups by group rank
2920 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2923 @kindex G P m (Group)
2924 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2925 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2926 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2932 @node Group Maintenance
2933 @section Group Maintenance
2934 @cindex bogus groups
2939 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2940 Find bogus groups and delete them
2941 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2945 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2946 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2947 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2948 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2949 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2953 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2954 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2955 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2956 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2959 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2960 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2961 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2962 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2967 @node Browse Foreign Server
2968 @section Browse Foreign Server
2969 @cindex foreign servers
2970 @cindex browsing servers
2975 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2976 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2977 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2978 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2981 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2982 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2983 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2984 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2986 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2991 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2992 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2996 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2997 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3000 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3001 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3002 Enter the current group and display the first article
3003 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3006 @kindex RET (Browse)
3007 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3008 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3012 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3013 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3014 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3020 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3021 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3025 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3026 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3027 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3032 @section Exiting Gnus
3033 @cindex exiting Gnus
3035 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3040 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3041 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3042 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3043 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3047 @findex gnus-group-exit
3048 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3049 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3053 @findex gnus-group-quit
3054 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3055 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3058 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3059 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3060 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3061 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3062 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3067 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3068 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3069 trying to customize meta-variables.
3074 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3075 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3076 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3082 @section Group Topics
3085 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3086 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3087 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3088 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3089 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3090 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3094 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3095 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3106 2: alt.religion.emacs
3109 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3111 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3112 13: comp.sources.unix
3115 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3117 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3118 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3119 is a toggling command.)
3121 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3122 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3123 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3124 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3127 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3128 the hook for the group mode:
3131 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3135 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3136 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3137 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3138 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3139 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3143 @node Topic Variables
3144 @subsection Topic Variables
3145 @cindex topic variables
3147 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3148 really neat, I think.
3150 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3151 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3152 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3165 Number of groups in the topic.
3167 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3169 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3172 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3173 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3174 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3177 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3178 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3180 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3181 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3182 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3185 @node Topic Commands
3186 @subsection Topic Commands
3187 @cindex topic commands
3189 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3190 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3191 definitions slightly.
3197 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3198 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3199 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3203 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3204 Move the current group to some other topic
3205 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3206 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3210 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3211 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3215 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3216 Copy the current group to some other topic
3217 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3218 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3222 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3223 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3224 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3225 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3226 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3227 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3228 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3231 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3232 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3236 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3237 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3238 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3242 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3243 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3244 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3248 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3249 Toggle hiding empty topics
3250 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3254 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3255 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3256 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3259 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3260 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3261 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3262 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3266 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3268 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3269 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3270 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3271 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3274 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3275 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3276 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3277 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3281 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3283 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3284 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3285 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3286 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3287 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3288 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3291 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3292 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3293 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3294 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3298 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3299 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3300 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3304 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3305 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3306 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3311 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3312 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3315 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3316 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3317 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3321 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3322 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3323 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3327 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3328 @cindex group parameters
3329 @cindex topic parameters
3331 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3332 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3338 @subsection Topic Sorting
3339 @cindex topic sorting
3341 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3347 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3348 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3349 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3350 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3353 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3354 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3355 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3356 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3359 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3360 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3361 Sort the current topic by group level
3362 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3365 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3366 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3367 Sort the current topic by group score
3368 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3371 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3372 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3373 Sort the current topic by group rank
3374 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3377 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3378 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3379 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3380 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3384 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3387 @node Topic Topology
3388 @subsection Topic Topology
3389 @cindex topic topology
3392 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3398 2: alt.religion.emacs
3401 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3403 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3404 13: comp.sources.unix
3407 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3408 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3409 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3414 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3415 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3419 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3420 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3421 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3422 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3423 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3424 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3426 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3427 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3428 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3431 @node Topic Parameters
3432 @subsection Topic Parameters
3433 @cindex topic parameters
3435 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3436 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3437 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3439 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3444 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3445 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3446 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3451 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3452 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3453 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3454 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3460 2: alt.religion.emacs
3464 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3466 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3467 13: comp.sources.unix
3471 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3472 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3473 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3474 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3475 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3476 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3478 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3479 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3480 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3481 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3482 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3484 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3485 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3486 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3487 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3488 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3489 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3490 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3491 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3494 @node Misc Group Stuff
3495 @section Misc Group Stuff
3498 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3499 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3500 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3501 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3508 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3509 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3510 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3514 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3515 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3516 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3520 @findex gnus-group-mail
3521 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3525 Variables for the group buffer:
3529 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3530 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3531 is called after the group buffer has been
3534 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3535 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3536 is called after the group buffer is
3537 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3540 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3541 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3542 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3543 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3545 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3546 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3547 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3548 whether they are empty or not.
3550 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3551 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3552 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3553 non-ASCII group names.
3557 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3558 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3561 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3562 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3563 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3564 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3568 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3569 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3574 @node Scanning New Messages
3575 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3576 @cindex new messages
3577 @cindex scanning new news
3583 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3584 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3585 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3586 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3587 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3588 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3593 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3594 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3595 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3596 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3597 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3598 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3599 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3601 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3602 @cindex activating groups
3604 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3605 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3610 @findex gnus-group-restart
3611 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3612 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3613 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3617 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3618 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3620 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3621 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3625 @node Group Information
3626 @subsection Group Information
3627 @cindex group information
3628 @cindex information on groups
3635 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3636 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3639 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3640 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3641 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3642 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3643 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3644 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3645 for fetching the file.
3647 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3648 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3652 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3654 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3655 @cindex describing groups
3656 @cindex group description
3657 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3658 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3659 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3663 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3664 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3665 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3672 @findex gnus-version
3673 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3677 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3678 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3681 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3684 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3685 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3689 @node Group Timestamp
3690 @subsection Group Timestamp
3692 @cindex group timestamps
3694 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3695 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3696 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3699 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3702 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3704 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3705 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3708 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3709 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3712 This will result in lines looking like:
3715 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3716 0: custom 19961002T012713
3719 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3720 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3724 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3725 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3730 @subsection File Commands
3731 @cindex file commands
3737 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3738 @vindex gnus-init-file
3739 @cindex reading init file
3740 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3741 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3745 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3746 @cindex saving .newsrc
3747 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3748 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3749 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3752 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3753 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3754 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3759 @node The Summary Buffer
3760 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3761 @cindex summary buffer
3763 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3764 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3766 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3767 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3769 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3772 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3773 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3774 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3775 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3776 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3777 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3778 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3779 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3780 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3781 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3782 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3783 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3784 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3785 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3786 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3787 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3788 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3789 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3790 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3791 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3792 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3793 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3794 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3795 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3796 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3797 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3798 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3799 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3803 @node Summary Buffer Format
3804 @section Summary Buffer Format
3805 @cindex summary buffer format
3809 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3810 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3811 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3817 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3818 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3819 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3820 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3823 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3824 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3825 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3826 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3827 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3828 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3829 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3830 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3831 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3832 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3833 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3836 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3837 'mail-extract-address-components)
3840 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3841 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3842 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3843 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3846 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3847 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3849 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3850 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3851 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3852 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3853 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3855 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3857 The following format specification characters are understood:
3863 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3864 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3866 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3867 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3868 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3870 Full @code{From} header.
3872 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3874 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3875 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3877 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3878 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3879 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3880 may be more thorough.
3882 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3885 Number of lines in the article.
3887 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3888 methods (like nnfolder).
3890 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3892 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3893 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3895 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3896 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3898 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3899 for adopted articles.
3901 One space for each thread level.
3903 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3908 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3909 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3913 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3915 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3916 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3917 default level. If the difference between
3918 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3919 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3927 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3929 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3935 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3936 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3938 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3939 article has any children.
3945 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3946 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3947 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3948 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3949 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3950 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3953 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3954 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3955 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3956 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3957 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3958 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3960 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3961 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3963 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3966 @node To From Newsgroups
3967 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3971 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3972 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3973 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3974 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3975 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3979 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3980 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3981 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3985 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3986 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3989 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3990 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3993 @findex gnus-extra-header
3994 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
3995 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
3996 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
3999 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4003 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4004 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4005 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4006 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4007 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4008 headers are used instead.
4012 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4013 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4014 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4015 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4018 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4019 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4020 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4021 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4023 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4026 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4028 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4029 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4030 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4031 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4035 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4036 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4043 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4044 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4047 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4048 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4050 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4051 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4052 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4053 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4055 Here are the elements you can play with:
4061 Unprefixed group name.
4063 Current article number.
4065 Current article score.
4069 Number of unread articles in this group.
4071 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4074 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4075 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4076 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4077 and no unselected ones.
4079 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4080 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4082 Subject of the current article.
4084 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4086 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4088 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4090 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4092 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4094 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4098 @node Summary Highlighting
4099 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4103 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4104 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4105 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4106 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4107 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4109 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4110 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4111 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4112 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4114 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4115 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4116 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4117 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4119 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4120 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4121 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4122 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4123 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4124 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4127 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4128 ((> score default) . bold))
4130 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4131 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4135 @node Summary Maneuvering
4136 @section Summary Maneuvering
4137 @cindex summary movement
4139 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4140 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4142 None of these commands select articles.
4147 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4148 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4149 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4150 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4151 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4155 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4156 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4157 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4158 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4159 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4164 @kindex G j (Summary)
4165 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4166 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4167 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4170 @kindex G g (Summary)
4171 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4172 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4173 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4176 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4177 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4178 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4179 to the group buffer.
4181 Variables related to summary movement:
4185 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4186 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4187 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4188 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4189 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4190 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4191 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4192 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4193 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4194 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4195 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4196 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4197 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4198 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4200 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4201 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4202 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4203 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4204 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4205 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4206 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4208 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4210 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4211 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4212 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4213 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4214 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4216 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4217 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4218 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4219 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4220 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4221 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4222 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4223 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4226 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4227 the given number of lines from the top.
4232 @node Choosing Articles
4233 @section Choosing Articles
4234 @cindex selecting articles
4237 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4238 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4242 @node Choosing Commands
4243 @subsection Choosing Commands
4245 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4246 and they all select and display an article.
4250 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4251 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4252 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4253 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4258 @kindex G n (Summary)
4259 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4260 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4261 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4266 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4267 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4268 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4273 @kindex G N (Summary)
4274 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4275 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4280 @kindex G P (Summary)
4281 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4282 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4285 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4286 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4287 Go to the next article with the same subject
4288 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4291 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4292 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4293 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4294 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4298 @kindex G f (Summary)
4300 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4301 Go to the first unread article
4302 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4306 @kindex G b (Summary)
4308 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4309 Go to the article with the highest score
4310 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4315 @kindex G l (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4317 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4320 @kindex G o (Summary)
4321 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4323 @cindex article history
4324 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4325 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4326 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4327 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4328 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4329 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4333 @node Choosing Variables
4334 @subsection Choosing Variables
4336 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4339 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4340 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4341 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4342 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4343 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4344 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4346 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4347 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4348 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4349 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4351 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4352 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4353 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4354 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4355 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4356 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4357 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4358 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4359 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4360 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4361 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4362 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4363 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4364 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4369 @node Paging the Article
4370 @section Scrolling the Article
4371 @cindex article scrolling
4376 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4377 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4378 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4379 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4380 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4383 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4385 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4388 @kindex RET (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4390 Scroll the current article one line forward
4391 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4394 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4395 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4396 Scroll the current article one line backward
4397 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4401 @kindex A g (Summary)
4403 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4404 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4405 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4406 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4407 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4408 the way it came from the server.
4410 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4411 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4412 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4415 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4420 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4425 @kindex A < (Summary)
4426 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4427 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4428 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4433 @kindex A > (Summary)
4434 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4435 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4439 @kindex A s (Summary)
4441 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4442 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4443 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4447 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4448 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4453 @node Reply Followup and Post
4454 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4457 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4458 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4459 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4460 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4464 @node Summary Mail Commands
4465 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4467 @cindex composing mail
4469 Commands for composing a mail message:
4475 @kindex S r (Summary)
4477 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4478 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4479 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4480 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4481 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4486 @kindex S R (Summary)
4487 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4488 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4489 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4490 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4491 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4494 @kindex S w (Summary)
4495 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4496 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4497 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4498 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4499 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4502 @kindex S W (Summary)
4503 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4504 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4505 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4506 the process/prefix convention.
4510 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4511 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4512 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4513 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4514 Forward the current article to some other person
4515 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4516 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4517 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4518 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4519 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4520 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4521 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4522 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4523 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4528 @kindex S m (Summary)
4529 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4530 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4531 Send a mail to some other person
4532 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4535 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4536 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4537 @cindex bouncing mail
4538 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4539 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4540 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4541 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4542 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4543 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4544 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4545 very well fail, though.
4548 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4549 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4550 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4551 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4552 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4553 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4554 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4555 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4556 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4557 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4559 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4560 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4561 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4562 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4563 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4565 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4566 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4569 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4570 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4571 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4572 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4573 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4576 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4577 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4578 @cindex crossposting
4579 @cindex excessive crossposting
4580 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4581 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4583 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4584 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4585 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4586 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4587 command understands the process/prefix convention
4588 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4592 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4595 @node Summary Post Commands
4596 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4598 @cindex composing news
4600 Commands for posting a news article:
4606 @kindex S p (Summary)
4607 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4608 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4609 Post an article to the current group
4610 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4615 @kindex S f (Summary)
4616 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4617 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4618 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4622 @kindex S F (Summary)
4624 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4625 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4626 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4627 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4628 process/prefix convention.
4631 @kindex S n (Summary)
4632 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4633 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4634 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4637 @kindex S N (Summary)
4638 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4639 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4640 message through mail and include the original message
4641 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4642 the process/prefix convention.
4645 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4646 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4647 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4648 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4649 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4650 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4651 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4652 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4653 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4654 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4655 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4656 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4657 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4660 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4661 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4663 @cindex making digests
4664 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4665 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4666 process/prefix convention.
4669 @kindex S u (Summary)
4670 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4671 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4672 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4673 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4676 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4679 @node Summary Message Commands
4680 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4684 @kindex S y (Summary)
4685 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4686 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4687 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4688 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4689 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4694 @node Canceling and Superseding
4695 @subsection Canceling Articles
4696 @cindex canceling articles
4697 @cindex superseding articles
4699 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4700 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4702 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4704 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4706 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4707 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4708 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4709 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4710 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4711 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4713 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4714 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4717 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4718 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4719 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4721 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4722 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4723 your original article.
4725 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4727 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4728 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4729 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4732 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4733 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4734 have posted almost the same article twice.
4736 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4737 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4738 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4739 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4740 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4741 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4742 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4743 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4744 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4745 canceled/superseded.
4747 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4750 @node Marking Articles
4751 @section Marking Articles
4752 @cindex article marking
4753 @cindex article ticking
4756 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4758 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4759 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4760 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4762 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4765 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4766 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4767 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4771 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4775 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4776 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4777 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4781 @node Unread Articles
4782 @subsection Unread Articles
4784 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4789 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4790 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4792 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4793 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4794 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4795 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4796 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4800 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4801 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4803 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4804 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4805 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4808 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4809 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4811 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4816 @subsection Read Articles
4817 @cindex expirable mark
4819 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4824 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4825 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4826 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4829 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4830 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4833 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4834 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4835 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4838 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4839 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4842 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4843 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4846 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4847 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4850 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4851 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4854 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4855 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4858 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4859 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4862 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4863 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4867 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4868 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4869 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4873 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4874 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4876 One more special mark, though:
4880 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4881 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4883 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4884 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4885 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4886 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4892 @subsection Other Marks
4893 @cindex process mark
4896 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4902 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4903 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4904 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4905 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4906 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4909 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4910 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4911 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4912 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4915 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4916 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4917 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4920 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4921 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4922 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4923 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4926 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4927 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4928 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4929 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4930 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4933 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4934 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4935 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4936 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4937 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4938 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4942 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4943 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4944 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4946 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4947 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4948 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4952 @subsection Setting Marks
4953 @cindex setting marks
4955 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4960 @kindex M c (Summary)
4961 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4962 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4963 @cindex mark as unread
4964 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4965 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4971 @kindex M t (Summary)
4972 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4973 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4974 @xref{Article Caching}.
4979 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4980 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4981 Mark the current article as dormant
4982 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4986 @kindex M d (Summary)
4988 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4989 Mark the current article as read
4990 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4994 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4995 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4996 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5001 @kindex M k (Summary)
5002 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5003 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5004 and then select the next unread article
5005 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5009 @kindex M K (Summary)
5010 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5011 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5012 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5013 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5016 @kindex M C (Summary)
5017 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5018 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5019 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5022 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5023 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5024 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5025 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5028 @kindex M H (Summary)
5029 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5030 Catchup the current group to point
5031 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5034 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5035 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5036 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5037 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5040 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5041 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5042 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5043 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5047 @kindex M e (Summary)
5049 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5050 Mark the current article as expirable
5051 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5054 @kindex M b (Summary)
5055 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5056 Set a bookmark in the current article
5057 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5060 @kindex M B (Summary)
5061 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5062 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5063 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5066 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5067 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5068 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5069 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5072 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5073 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5074 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5075 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5078 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5079 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5080 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5081 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5082 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5085 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5086 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5087 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5088 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5089 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5090 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5091 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5092 The default is @code{t}.
5095 @node Generic Marking Commands
5096 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5098 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5099 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5100 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5101 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5102 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5105 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5106 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5109 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5110 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5111 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5112 to list in this manual.
5114 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5115 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5116 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5117 article, you could say something like:
5120 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5121 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5122 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5128 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5129 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5133 @node Setting Process Marks
5134 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5135 @cindex setting process marks
5142 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5143 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5144 Mark the current article with the process mark
5145 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5146 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5150 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5151 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5152 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5153 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5156 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5157 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5158 Remove the process mark from all articles
5159 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5162 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5164 Invert the list of process marked articles
5165 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5168 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5169 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5170 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5171 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5174 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5175 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5176 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5177 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5180 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5181 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5182 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5185 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5186 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5187 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5188 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5191 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5192 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5193 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5194 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5197 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5198 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5199 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5200 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5203 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5204 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5205 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5208 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5209 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5210 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5211 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5214 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5215 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5216 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5219 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5221 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5222 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5225 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5226 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5227 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5228 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5231 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5232 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5233 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5234 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5237 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5238 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5239 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5240 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5249 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5250 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5251 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5254 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5255 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5256 additional articles.
5262 @kindex / / (Summary)
5263 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5264 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5265 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5268 @kindex / a (Summary)
5269 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5270 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5271 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5274 @kindex / x (Summary)
5275 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5276 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5277 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5278 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5282 @kindex / u (Summary)
5284 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5285 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5286 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5287 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5288 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5291 @kindex / m (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5293 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5294 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5297 @kindex / t (Summary)
5298 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5299 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5300 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5301 articles younger than that number of days.
5304 @kindex / n (Summary)
5305 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5306 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5307 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5308 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5311 @kindex / w (Summary)
5312 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5313 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5314 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5318 @kindex / v (Summary)
5319 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5320 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5321 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5325 @kindex M S (Summary)
5326 @kindex / E (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5328 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5329 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5332 @kindex / D (Summary)
5333 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5334 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5335 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5338 @kindex / * (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5340 Include all cached articles in the limit
5341 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5344 @kindex / d (Summary)
5345 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5346 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5347 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5350 @kindex / M (Summary)
5351 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5352 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5355 @kindex / T (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5357 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5360 @kindex / c (Summary)
5361 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5362 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5363 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5366 @kindex / C (Summary)
5367 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5368 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5369 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5370 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5378 @cindex article threading
5380 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5381 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5382 hierarchical fashion.
5384 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5385 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5386 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5387 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5388 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5389 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5390 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5392 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5396 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5399 A tree-like article structure.
5402 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5405 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5406 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5407 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5408 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5409 called loose threads.
5411 @item thread gathering
5412 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5414 @item sparse threads
5415 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5416 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5422 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5423 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5427 @node Customizing Threading
5428 @subsection Customizing Threading
5429 @cindex customizing threading
5432 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5433 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5434 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5435 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5440 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5443 @cindex loose threads
5446 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5447 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5448 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5449 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5450 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5451 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5453 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5454 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5455 There are four possible values:
5459 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5460 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5461 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5462 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5463 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5468 @cindex adopting articles
5473 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5474 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5475 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5476 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5479 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5480 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5481 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5482 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5483 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5484 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5485 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5488 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5489 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5490 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5494 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5495 display them after one another.
5498 Don't gather loose threads.
5501 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5502 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5503 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5504 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5505 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5506 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5507 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5508 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5509 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5510 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5511 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5513 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5514 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5515 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5518 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5519 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5520 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5521 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5522 simplification is used.
5524 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5525 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5526 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5527 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5529 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5531 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5537 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5538 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5539 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5540 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5545 (mapconcat 'identity
5546 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5548 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5551 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5554 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5555 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5556 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5557 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5558 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5559 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5561 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5564 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5565 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5566 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5568 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5569 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5572 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5573 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5574 Remove excessive whitespace.
5577 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5580 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5581 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5582 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5583 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5584 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5585 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5586 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5587 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5589 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5590 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5591 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5592 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5593 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5594 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5595 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5596 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5597 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5601 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5602 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5603 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5604 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5606 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5607 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5608 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5611 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5615 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5616 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5622 @node Filling In Threads
5623 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5626 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5627 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5628 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5629 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5630 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5631 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5632 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5633 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5634 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5635 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5636 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5637 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5639 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5640 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5641 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5643 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5644 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5645 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5646 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5647 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5648 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5649 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5650 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5651 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5652 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5653 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5654 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5655 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5656 @code{nil} by default.
5661 @node More Threading
5662 @subsubsection More Threading
5665 @item gnus-show-threads
5666 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5667 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5668 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5669 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5670 slower and more awkward.
5672 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5673 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5674 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5677 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5678 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5679 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5680 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5681 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5682 threads are expunged.
5684 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5685 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5686 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5689 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5690 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5691 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5692 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5693 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5696 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5697 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5698 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5701 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5702 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5703 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5704 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5705 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5706 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5707 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5708 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5709 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5710 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5711 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5716 @node Low-Level Threading
5717 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5721 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5722 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5723 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5725 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5726 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5727 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5728 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5729 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5730 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5731 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5732 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5733 meaningful. Here's one example:
5736 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5738 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5739 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5741 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5743 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5750 @node Thread Commands
5751 @subsection Thread Commands
5752 @cindex thread commands
5758 @kindex T k (Summary)
5759 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5760 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5761 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5762 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5763 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5768 @kindex T l (Summary)
5769 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5770 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5771 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5772 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5775 @kindex T i (Summary)
5776 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5777 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5778 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5781 @kindex T # (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5783 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5784 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5787 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5788 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5789 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5790 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5793 @kindex T T (Summary)
5794 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5795 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5798 @kindex T s (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5800 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5801 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5804 @kindex T h (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5806 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5809 @kindex T S (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5811 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5814 @kindex T H (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5816 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5819 @kindex T t (Summary)
5820 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5821 Re-thread the current article's thread
5822 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5823 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5826 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5827 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5828 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5829 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5833 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5834 understand the numeric prefix.
5839 @kindex T n (Summary)
5841 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5843 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5844 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5845 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5848 @kindex T p (Summary)
5850 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5852 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5853 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5854 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5857 @kindex T d (Summary)
5858 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5859 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5862 @kindex T u (Summary)
5863 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5864 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5867 @kindex T o (Summary)
5868 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5869 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5872 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5873 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5874 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5875 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5876 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5877 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5878 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5879 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5880 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5881 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5882 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5883 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5890 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5891 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5892 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5893 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5894 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5895 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5896 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5897 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5898 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5899 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5900 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5902 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5903 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5904 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5905 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5906 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5908 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5909 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5910 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5912 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5913 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5915 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5916 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5917 ascending article order.
5919 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5920 by number, you could do something like:
5923 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5924 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5925 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5926 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5929 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5930 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5931 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5932 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5933 which the articles arrived.
5935 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5939 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5941 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5942 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5945 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5946 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5947 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5948 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5951 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5952 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5953 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5954 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5955 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5956 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5957 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5958 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5959 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5960 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5961 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5962 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5963 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5965 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5969 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5970 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5971 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5976 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5977 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5978 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5979 @cindex article pre-fetch
5982 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5983 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5984 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5985 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5986 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5988 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5989 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5991 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5992 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5993 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5994 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5995 connection is blocked.
5997 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5998 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5999 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6000 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6002 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6003 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6004 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6005 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6008 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6011 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6012 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6013 happen automatically.
6015 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6016 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6017 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6018 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6019 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6020 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6021 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6023 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6024 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6025 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6026 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6027 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6028 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6029 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6030 data structure as the only parameter.
6032 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6035 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6036 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6037 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6038 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6041 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6044 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6045 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6046 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6048 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6049 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6050 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6051 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6055 Remove articles when they are read.
6058 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6061 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6063 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6064 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6065 @c from the next group.
6068 @node Article Caching
6069 @section Article Caching
6070 @cindex article caching
6073 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6074 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6075 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6076 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6077 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6079 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6081 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6082 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6083 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6084 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6085 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6086 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6087 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6088 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6090 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6091 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6092 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6093 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6094 as dormant, and don't worry.
6096 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6098 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6099 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6100 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6101 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6102 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6103 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6104 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6105 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6106 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6107 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6109 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6110 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6111 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6112 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6113 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6114 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6115 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6116 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6117 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6118 not then be downloaded by this command.
6120 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6121 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6122 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6123 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6124 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6125 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6127 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6128 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6129 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6130 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6131 variables, the group is not cached.
6133 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6134 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6135 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6136 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6137 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6138 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6139 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6140 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6141 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6145 @node Persistent Articles
6146 @section Persistent Articles
6147 @cindex persistent articles
6149 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6150 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6151 useful in my opinion.
6153 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6154 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6155 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6156 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6157 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6158 the expiry going on at the news server.
6160 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6161 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6162 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6168 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6169 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6172 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6173 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6174 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6175 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6179 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6181 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6182 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6183 interested in persistent articles:
6186 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6190 @node Article Backlog
6191 @section Article Backlog
6193 @cindex article backlog
6195 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6196 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6197 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6198 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6199 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6200 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6201 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6202 increase memory usage some.
6204 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6205 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6206 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6207 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6208 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6209 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6210 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6212 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6215 @node Saving Articles
6216 @section Saving Articles
6217 @cindex saving articles
6219 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6220 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6221 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6222 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6223 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6225 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6226 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6227 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6229 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6230 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6231 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6232 deleted before saving.
6238 @kindex O o (Summary)
6240 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6241 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6242 Save the current article using the default article saver
6243 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6246 @kindex O m (Summary)
6247 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6248 Save the current article in mail format
6249 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6252 @kindex O r (Summary)
6253 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6254 Save the current article in rmail format
6255 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6258 @kindex O f (Summary)
6259 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6260 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6261 Save the current article in plain file format
6262 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6265 @kindex O F (Summary)
6266 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6267 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6268 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6271 @kindex O b (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6273 Save the current article body in plain file format
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6277 @kindex O h (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6279 Save the current article in mh folder format
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6283 @kindex O v (Summary)
6284 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6285 Save the current article in a VM folder
6286 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6289 @kindex O p (Summary)
6290 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6291 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6292 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6295 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6296 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6297 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6298 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6299 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6300 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6301 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6302 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6303 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6304 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6305 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6306 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6310 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6311 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6312 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6313 functions below, or you can create your own.
6317 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6318 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6319 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6320 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6321 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6322 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6323 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6325 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6326 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6327 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6328 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6329 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6330 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6332 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6333 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6334 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6335 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6336 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6337 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6338 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6340 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6341 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6342 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6343 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6344 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6346 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6347 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6348 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6349 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6350 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6353 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6354 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6355 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6356 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6357 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6359 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6360 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6361 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6362 reader to use this setting.
6365 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6366 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6367 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6368 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6371 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6372 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6373 available functions that generate names:
6377 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6378 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6379 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6381 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6382 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6383 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6385 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6386 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6387 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6389 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6390 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6391 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6394 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6395 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6396 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6397 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6398 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6402 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6403 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6404 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6405 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6408 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6409 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6410 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6411 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6412 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6413 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6414 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6415 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6416 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6418 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6419 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6420 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6421 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6423 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6424 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6425 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6428 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6429 lots of mail groups called things like
6430 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6431 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6432 following will do just that:
6435 (defun my-save-name (group)
6436 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6437 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6439 (setq gnus-split-methods
6440 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6445 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6446 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6447 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6448 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6449 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6450 all the files in the top level directory
6451 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6452 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6453 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6454 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6456 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6457 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6458 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6459 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6460 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6463 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6467 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6468 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6471 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6472 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6473 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6474 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6477 @node Decoding Articles
6478 @section Decoding Articles
6479 @cindex decoding articles
6481 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6482 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6485 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6486 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6487 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6488 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6489 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6490 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6494 @cindex article series
6495 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6496 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6497 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6498 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6499 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6501 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6502 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6503 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6505 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6506 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6507 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6509 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6510 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6511 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6514 @node Uuencoded Articles
6515 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6517 @cindex uuencoded articles
6522 @kindex X u (Summary)
6523 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6524 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6525 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6528 @kindex X U (Summary)
6529 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6530 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6531 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6534 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6535 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6536 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6539 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6540 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6541 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6542 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6546 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6547 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6548 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6549 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6550 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6552 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6553 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6554 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6555 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6558 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6559 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6560 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6561 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6562 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6563 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6567 @node Shell Archives
6568 @subsection Shell Archives
6570 @cindex shell archives
6571 @cindex shared articles
6573 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6574 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6575 some commands to deal with these:
6580 @kindex X s (Summary)
6581 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6582 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6585 @kindex X S (Summary)
6586 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6587 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6590 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6591 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6592 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6595 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6596 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6597 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6598 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6602 @node PostScript Files
6603 @subsection PostScript Files
6609 @kindex X p (Summary)
6610 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6611 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6614 @kindex X P (Summary)
6615 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6616 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6617 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6620 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6621 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6622 View the current PostScript series
6623 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6626 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6627 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6628 View and save the current PostScript series
6629 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6634 @subsection Other Files
6638 @kindex X o (Summary)
6639 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6640 Save the current series
6641 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6644 @kindex X b (Summary)
6645 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6646 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6647 doesn't really work yet.
6651 @node Decoding Variables
6652 @subsection Decoding Variables
6654 Adjective, not verb.
6657 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6658 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6659 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6663 @node Rule Variables
6664 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6665 @cindex rule variables
6667 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6668 variables are of the form
6671 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6678 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6679 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6681 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6682 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6685 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6686 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6689 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6690 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6691 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6692 user and default view rules.
6694 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6695 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6696 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6701 @node Other Decode Variables
6702 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6705 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6707 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6708 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6709 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6710 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6711 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6715 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6716 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6719 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6720 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6721 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6724 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6725 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6726 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6727 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6728 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6731 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6732 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6733 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6735 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6736 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6737 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6738 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6739 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6742 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6743 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6744 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6746 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6747 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6748 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6749 looking for files to display.
6751 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6752 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6753 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6756 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6757 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6758 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6761 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6762 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6763 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6766 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6767 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6768 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6771 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6772 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6773 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6774 decoded articles as unread.
6776 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6777 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6778 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6779 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6781 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6782 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6783 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6785 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6786 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6788 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6789 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6790 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6791 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6793 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6794 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6795 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6796 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6797 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6798 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6799 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6800 simply dropped them.
6805 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6806 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6810 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6811 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6812 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6813 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6814 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6815 for you when you post the article.
6817 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6818 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6819 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6820 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6822 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6823 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6824 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6825 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6826 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6827 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6828 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6830 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6832 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6833 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6834 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6835 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6836 Default is @code{t}.
6842 @subsection Viewing Files
6843 @cindex viewing files
6844 @cindex pseudo-articles
6846 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6847 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6848 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6849 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6850 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6851 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6852 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6854 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6855 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6856 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6857 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6859 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6860 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6861 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6863 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6864 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6865 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6866 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6867 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6869 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6870 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6871 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6872 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6873 a list of parameters to that command.
6875 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6876 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6877 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6879 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6880 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6881 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6884 @node Article Treatment
6885 @section Article Treatment
6887 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6888 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6889 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6890 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6891 these articles easier.
6894 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6895 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6896 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6897 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6898 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6899 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6900 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6901 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6905 @node Article Highlighting
6906 @subsection Article Highlighting
6907 @cindex highlighting
6909 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6910 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6915 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6916 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6917 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6918 Do much highlighting of the current article
6919 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6920 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6923 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6925 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6926 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6927 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6928 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6929 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6930 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6931 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6932 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6933 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6934 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6937 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6938 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6939 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6941 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6944 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6946 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6947 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6948 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6950 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6951 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6952 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6954 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6955 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6956 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6958 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6959 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6960 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6961 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6962 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6963 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6965 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6966 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6967 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6969 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6970 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6971 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6973 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6974 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6975 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6976 that it's a citation.
6978 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6979 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6980 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6982 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6983 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6984 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6986 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6987 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6988 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6989 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6995 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6996 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6997 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6998 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6999 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7000 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7001 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7002 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7007 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7010 @node Article Fontisizing
7011 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7013 @cindex article emphasis
7015 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7016 @kindex W e (Summary)
7017 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7018 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7019 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7020 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7022 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7023 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7024 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7025 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7026 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7027 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7028 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7029 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7033 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7034 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7035 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7044 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7045 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7046 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7047 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7048 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7049 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7050 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7051 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7052 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7053 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7054 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7055 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7056 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7058 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7059 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7060 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7064 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7067 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7069 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7070 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7071 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7072 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7074 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7077 @node Article Hiding
7078 @subsection Article Hiding
7079 @cindex article hiding
7081 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7082 too much cruft in most articles.
7087 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7088 @findex gnus-article-hide
7089 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7090 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7091 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7094 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7095 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7096 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7100 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7101 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7102 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7103 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7106 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7107 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7108 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7112 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7113 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7114 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7115 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}.
7116 These are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of
7117 all @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any
7118 leading @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping.
7122 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7123 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7124 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7125 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7130 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7131 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7132 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7133 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7134 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7135 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7136 articles that have signatures in them do:
7138 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7140 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7142 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7143 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7145 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7148 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7153 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7154 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7155 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7156 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7159 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7160 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7163 @cindex stripping advertisments
7164 @cindex advertisments
7165 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7166 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7167 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7168 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7169 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7170 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7171 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7172 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7173 signature should be removed.
7176 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7177 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7178 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7179 customizing the hiding:
7183 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7184 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7185 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7186 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7187 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7188 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7189 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7194 Starting point of the hidden text.
7196 Ending point of the hidden text.
7198 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7200 Number of lines of hidden text.
7203 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7204 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7205 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7206 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7207 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7212 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7213 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7215 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7216 following two variables:
7219 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7220 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7221 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7222 50), hide the cited text.
7224 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7225 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7226 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7231 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7232 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7233 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7234 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7235 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7236 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7240 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7241 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7242 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7244 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7245 citation customization.
7247 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7251 @node Article Washing
7252 @subsection Article Washing
7254 @cindex article washing
7256 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7257 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7259 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7260 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7266 @kindex W l (Summary)
7267 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7268 Remove page breaks from the current article
7269 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7273 @kindex W r (Summary)
7274 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7275 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7276 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7277 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7278 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7279 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7281 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7282 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7283 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7284 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7287 @kindex W t (Summary)
7288 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7289 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7290 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7293 @kindex W v (Summary)
7294 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7295 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7296 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7299 @kindex W o (Summary)
7300 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7301 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7304 @kindex W d (Summary)
7305 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7306 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7308 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7310 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7311 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7312 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7313 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7317 @kindex W w (Summary)
7318 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7319 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7321 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7325 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7327 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7330 @kindex W C (Summary)
7331 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7332 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7333 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7336 @kindex W c (Summary)
7337 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7338 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7339 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7340 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7341 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7344 @kindex W q (Summary)
7345 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7346 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7347 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7348 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7349 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7350 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7351 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7352 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7355 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7356 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7357 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7358 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7359 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7360 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7361 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7365 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7366 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7367 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7368 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7369 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7372 @kindex W h (Summary)
7373 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7374 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7375 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7376 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7380 @kindex W f (Summary)
7382 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7383 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7384 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7385 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7391 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7392 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7393 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7394 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7395 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7396 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7397 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7398 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7399 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7400 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7401 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7402 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7403 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7404 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7405 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7406 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7407 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7408 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7409 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7410 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7414 @kindex W b (Summary)
7415 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7416 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7417 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7420 @kindex W B (Summary)
7421 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7422 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7423 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7426 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7427 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7428 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7429 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7432 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7434 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7435 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7438 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7439 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7440 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7441 lines with a single empty line.
7442 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7445 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7446 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7447 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7448 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7451 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7452 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7453 Do all the three commands above
7454 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7457 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7458 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7459 Remove all blank lines
7460 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7463 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7464 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7465 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7466 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7469 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7470 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7471 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7472 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7476 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7479 @node Article Buttons
7480 @subsection Article Buttons
7483 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7484 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7485 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7486 button on these references.
7488 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7489 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7490 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7495 @item gnus-button-alist
7496 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7497 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7500 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7506 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7507 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7508 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7511 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7512 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7513 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7516 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7517 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7518 avoid false matches.
7521 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7524 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7525 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7529 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7532 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7535 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7536 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7537 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7538 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7539 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7542 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7545 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7547 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7548 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7549 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7550 default values of the variables above.
7552 @item gnus-article-button-face
7553 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7554 Face used on buttons.
7556 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7557 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7558 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7562 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7566 @subsection Article Date
7568 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7569 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7570 when the article was sent.
7575 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7576 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7577 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7578 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7581 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7582 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7584 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7585 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7588 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7589 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7590 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7593 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7594 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7595 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7596 @findex format-time-string
7597 Display the date using a user-defined format
7598 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7599 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7600 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7601 for a list of possible format specs.
7604 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7605 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7606 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7607 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7608 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7609 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7612 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7615 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7616 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7619 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7620 into wonderful absurdities.
7622 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7625 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7628 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7629 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7633 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7635 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7636 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7637 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7638 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7639 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7643 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7644 preferred format automatically.
7647 @node Article Signature
7648 @subsection Article Signature
7650 @cindex article signature
7652 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7653 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7654 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7655 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7656 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7657 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7658 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7659 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7660 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7663 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7664 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7665 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7666 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7667 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7668 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7669 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7670 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7673 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7676 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7677 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7678 signature when displaying articles.
7682 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7685 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7688 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7689 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7691 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7692 in question is not a signature.
7695 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7696 listed above. Here's an example:
7699 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7700 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7703 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7704 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7705 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7706 signature after all.
7709 @node Article Miscellania
7710 @subsection Article Miscellania
7714 @kindex A t (Summary)
7715 @findex gnus-article-babel
7716 Translate the article from one language to another
7717 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7723 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7724 @cindex MIME decoding
7726 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7727 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7733 @kindex K v (Summary)
7734 View the @sc{mime} part.
7737 @kindex K o (Summary)
7738 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7741 @kindex K c (Summary)
7742 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7745 @kindex K e (Summary)
7746 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7749 @kindex K i (Summary)
7750 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7753 @kindex K | (Summary)
7754 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7757 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7762 @kindex K b (Summary)
7763 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7764 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7768 @kindex K m (Summary)
7769 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7770 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7771 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7772 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7773 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7776 @kindex X m (Summary)
7777 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7778 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7779 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7780 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7783 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7784 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7785 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7786 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7789 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7790 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7791 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7794 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7795 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7796 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7798 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7799 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7800 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7801 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7802 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7803 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7806 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7807 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7808 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7815 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7816 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7817 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7818 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7821 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7824 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7828 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7829 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7830 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7831 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7832 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7834 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7835 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7836 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7837 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7838 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7839 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7840 save all jpegs into some directory).
7842 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7845 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7846 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7848 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7849 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7850 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7851 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7852 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7855 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7856 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7857 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7866 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7867 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7868 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7869 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7870 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7871 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7872 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7874 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7875 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7876 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7877 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7879 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7880 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7881 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7882 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7883 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7884 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7885 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7886 something some agents insist on having in there.
7888 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7889 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7890 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7891 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7892 quoted-printable header encoding.
7894 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7895 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7896 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7900 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7903 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7904 means encode all charsets),
7906 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7907 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7908 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7915 @cindex coding system aliases
7916 @cindex preferred charset
7918 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7920 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7921 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7924 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7925 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7928 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7929 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7931 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7934 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7937 This will almost do the right thing.
7939 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7943 (codepage-setup 1251)
7944 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7948 @node Article Commands
7949 @section Article Commands
7956 @kindex A P (Summary)
7957 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7958 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7959 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7960 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7961 run just before printing the buffer.
7966 @node Summary Sorting
7967 @section Summary Sorting
7968 @cindex summary sorting
7970 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7971 can't really see why you'd want that.
7976 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7977 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7978 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7981 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7982 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7983 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7986 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7987 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7988 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7991 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
7992 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
7993 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
7996 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
7997 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
7998 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8001 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8002 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8003 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8006 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8007 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8008 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8011 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8012 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8013 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8014 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8015 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8019 @node Finding the Parent
8020 @section Finding the Parent
8021 @cindex parent articles
8022 @cindex referring articles
8027 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8028 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8029 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8030 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8031 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8032 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8033 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8034 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8035 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8037 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8038 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8039 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8040 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8041 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8045 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8046 @kindex A R (Summary)
8047 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8048 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8051 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8052 @kindex A T (Summary)
8053 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8054 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8055 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8056 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8057 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8058 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8059 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8061 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8062 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8063 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8064 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8065 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8066 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8069 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8070 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8072 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8073 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8074 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8075 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8076 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8077 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8078 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8081 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8082 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8083 by giving this command a prefix.
8085 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8086 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8087 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8088 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8089 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8090 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8093 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8094 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8095 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8098 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8099 then ask Deja if that fails:
8102 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8104 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8107 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8108 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8109 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8110 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8111 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8112 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8115 @node Alternative Approaches
8116 @section Alternative Approaches
8118 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8119 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8122 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8123 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8128 @subsection Pick and Read
8129 @cindex pick and read
8131 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8132 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8133 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8134 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8136 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8137 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8138 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8139 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8140 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8141 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8143 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8148 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8149 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8150 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8151 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8152 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8153 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8154 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8155 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8158 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8159 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8160 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8161 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8165 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8166 Unpick the thread or article
8167 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8168 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8169 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8170 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8171 the thread or article at that line.
8175 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8176 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8177 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8178 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8179 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8180 will still be visible when you are reading.
8184 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8185 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8186 which is mapped to the same function
8187 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8189 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8192 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8195 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8196 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8198 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8199 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8200 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8202 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8203 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8204 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8205 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8206 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8207 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8208 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8212 @subsection Binary Groups
8213 @cindex binary groups
8215 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8216 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8217 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8218 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8219 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8220 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8221 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8224 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8225 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8226 command, when you have turned on this mode
8227 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8229 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8230 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8234 @section Tree Display
8237 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8238 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8239 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8240 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8243 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8246 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8247 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8248 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8250 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8251 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8252 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8253 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8254 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8256 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8257 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8258 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8259 default is @code{modeline}.
8261 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8262 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8263 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8264 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8265 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8266 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8267 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8273 The name of the poster.
8275 The @code{From} header.
8277 The number of the article.
8279 The opening bracket.
8281 The closing bracket.
8286 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8288 Variables related to the display are:
8291 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8292 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8293 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8294 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8295 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8296 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8298 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8299 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8300 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8301 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8305 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8306 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8307 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8308 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8309 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8310 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8311 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8312 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8313 other windows displayed next to it.
8315 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8316 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8317 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8318 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8319 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8320 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8321 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8325 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8328 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8338 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8342 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8343 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8345 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8347 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8352 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8353 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8354 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8357 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8358 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8359 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8360 (gnus-add-configuration
8364 (summary 0.75 point)
8369 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8372 @node Mail Group Commands
8373 @section Mail Group Commands
8374 @cindex mail group commands
8376 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8377 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8379 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8380 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8385 @kindex B e (Summary)
8386 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8387 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8388 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8391 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8392 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8393 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8394 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8395 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8396 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8399 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8400 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8401 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8402 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8403 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8404 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8407 @kindex B m (Summary)
8409 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8410 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8411 Move the article from one mail group to another
8412 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8413 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8416 @kindex B c (Summary)
8418 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8419 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8420 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8421 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8422 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8425 @kindex B B (Summary)
8426 @cindex crosspost mail
8427 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8428 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8429 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8430 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8431 be properly updated.
8434 @kindex B i (Summary)
8435 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8436 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8437 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8438 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8441 @kindex B r (Summary)
8442 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8443 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8444 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8445 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8446 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8447 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8448 (which is the default).
8452 @kindex B w (Summary)
8454 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8455 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8456 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8457 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8458 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8459 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8462 @kindex B q (Summary)
8463 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8464 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8465 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8466 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8469 @kindex B t (Summary)
8470 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8471 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8472 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8475 @kindex B p (Summary)
8476 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8477 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8478 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8479 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8480 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8481 article from your news server (or rather, from
8482 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8483 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8484 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8485 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8486 just not have arrived yet.
8490 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8491 @cindex moving articles
8492 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8493 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8494 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8495 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8496 suggestions you find reasonable.
8499 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8500 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8501 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8502 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8506 @node Various Summary Stuff
8507 @section Various Summary Stuff
8510 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8511 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8512 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8513 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8517 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8518 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8519 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8521 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8522 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8523 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8524 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8525 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8526 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8529 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8530 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8531 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8532 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8533 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8535 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8536 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8537 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8540 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8541 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8542 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8543 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8544 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8545 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8546 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8547 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8548 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8549 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8551 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8552 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8553 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8554 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8555 list of articles to be selected.
8557 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8558 the list in one particular group:
8561 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8562 (if (string= group "some.group")
8563 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8570 @node Summary Group Information
8571 @subsection Summary Group Information
8576 @kindex H f (Summary)
8577 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8578 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8579 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8580 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8581 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8582 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8583 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8584 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8585 be used for fetching the file.
8588 @kindex H d (Summary)
8589 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8590 Give a brief description of the current group
8591 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8592 rereading the description from the server.
8595 @kindex H h (Summary)
8596 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8597 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8598 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8601 @kindex H i (Summary)
8602 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8603 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8607 @node Searching for Articles
8608 @subsection Searching for Articles
8613 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8614 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8615 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8616 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8619 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8620 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8621 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8622 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8626 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8627 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
8628 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8629 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
8633 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8634 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8635 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8636 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8639 @node Summary Generation Commands
8640 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8645 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8647 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8650 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8651 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8652 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8653 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8658 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8659 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8665 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8666 @kindex A D (Summary)
8667 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8668 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8669 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8670 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8671 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8672 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8673 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8674 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8678 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8680 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8681 several documents into one biiig group
8682 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8683 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8684 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8685 command understands the process/prefix convention
8686 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8689 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8690 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8691 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8692 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8693 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8694 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8698 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8699 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8700 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8703 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8704 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8705 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8706 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8709 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8710 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8711 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8712 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8717 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8718 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8719 @cindex summary exit
8720 @cindex exiting groups
8722 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8723 group and return you to the group buffer.
8729 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8731 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8732 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8733 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8734 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8735 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8736 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8737 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8738 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8739 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8740 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8741 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8745 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8747 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8748 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8749 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8753 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8755 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8756 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8757 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8758 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8761 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8762 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8763 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8764 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8767 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8768 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8769 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8770 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8773 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8775 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8776 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8777 all articles, both read and unread.
8781 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8782 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8783 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8784 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8785 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8786 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8787 articles, both read and unread.
8790 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8791 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8792 Exit the group and go to the next group
8793 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8796 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8797 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8798 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8799 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8802 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8803 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8804 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8805 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8806 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8807 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8810 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8811 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8812 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8813 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8815 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8816 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8817 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8818 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8819 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8820 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8821 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8822 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8823 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8824 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8825 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8826 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8828 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8830 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8831 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8832 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8833 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8834 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8835 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8836 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8837 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8838 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8841 @node Crosspost Handling
8842 @section Crosspost Handling
8846 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8847 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8848 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8849 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8850 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8851 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8854 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8855 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8856 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8857 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8858 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8860 @cindex cross-posting
8863 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8864 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8865 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8866 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8867 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8868 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8869 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8870 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8871 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8872 the cross reference mechanism.
8874 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8875 @cindex overview.fmt
8876 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8877 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8878 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8879 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8880 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8881 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8884 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8885 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8886 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8891 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8894 @node Duplicate Suppression
8895 @section Duplicate Suppression
8897 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8898 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8899 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8900 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8905 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8906 is evil and not very common.
8909 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8910 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8913 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8914 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8917 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8920 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8921 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8923 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8924 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8925 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8926 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8927 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8928 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8929 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8932 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8933 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8934 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8935 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8936 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8940 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8941 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8942 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8944 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8945 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8946 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8947 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8948 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
8949 session are suppressed.
8951 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8952 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8953 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8954 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8956 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8957 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8958 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8959 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8962 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
8963 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8964 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8965 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8966 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
8967 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8968 to you to figure out, I think.
8971 @node The Article Buffer
8972 @chapter The Article Buffer
8973 @cindex article buffer
8975 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8976 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8977 tell Gnus otherwise.
8980 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8981 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8982 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8983 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8984 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
8988 @node Hiding Headers
8989 @section Hiding Headers
8990 @cindex hiding headers
8991 @cindex deleting headers
8993 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
8994 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
8996 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
8997 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
8998 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
8999 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9000 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9001 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9002 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9003 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9004 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9006 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9010 @item gnus-visible-headers
9011 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9012 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9013 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9014 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9016 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9017 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9020 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9023 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9026 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9027 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9028 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9029 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9030 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9031 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9033 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9034 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9037 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9040 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9043 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9044 variable will have no effect.
9048 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9049 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9050 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9051 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9052 the headers are to be displayed.
9054 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9055 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9058 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9061 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9062 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9064 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9065 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9066 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9067 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9068 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9069 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9070 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9073 These conditions are:
9076 Remove all empty headers.
9078 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9079 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9081 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9084 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9087 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9090 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9092 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9095 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9098 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9099 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9102 This is also the default value for this variable.
9106 @section Using @sc{mime}
9109 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9110 while people stand around yawning.
9112 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9113 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9115 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9116 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9117 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9119 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9120 @findex gnus-display-mime
9121 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9122 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9123 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9124 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9126 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9130 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9132 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9133 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9134 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9136 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9137 @item M-RET (Article)
9139 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9140 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9142 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9144 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9145 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9147 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9149 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9150 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9152 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9154 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9155 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9157 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9159 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9161 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9163 Insert the raw contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9164 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}).
9168 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9169 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9172 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9173 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9174 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9175 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9176 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9177 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9178 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9179 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9180 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9182 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9184 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9187 @node Customizing Articles
9188 @section Customizing Articles
9189 @cindex article customization
9191 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9192 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9193 called automatically when you select the articles.
9195 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9196 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9197 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9198 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9200 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9201 for sensible values.
9205 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9208 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9211 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9214 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9217 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9221 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9222 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9223 regexps in the list.
9226 A list where the first element is not a string:
9228 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9229 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9230 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9234 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9239 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9240 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9241 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9242 considered to contain just a single part.
9244 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9245 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9246 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9247 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9248 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9249 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9250 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9252 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9253 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9254 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9255 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9258 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9259 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9260 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9261 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9262 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9263 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9264 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9265 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9266 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9267 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9268 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9269 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9270 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9271 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9272 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9273 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9274 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9275 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9276 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9277 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9278 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9279 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9280 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9281 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9282 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9283 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9284 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9285 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9286 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9287 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9288 @item gnus-treat-translate
9291 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9292 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9293 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9294 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9295 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9299 @node Article Keymap
9300 @section Article Keymap
9302 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9303 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9304 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9305 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9308 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9313 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9314 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9315 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9318 @kindex DEL (Article)
9319 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9320 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9323 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9324 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9325 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9326 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9327 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9330 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9331 @findex gnus-article-mail
9332 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9333 given a prefix, include the mail.
9337 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9338 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9339 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9343 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9344 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9345 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9348 @kindex TAB (Article)
9349 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9350 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9351 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9354 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9355 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9356 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9362 @section Misc Article
9366 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9367 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9368 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9369 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9372 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9373 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9375 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9376 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9378 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9379 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9380 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9381 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9382 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9383 the contents of the article buffer.
9385 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9386 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9387 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9389 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9390 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9391 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9392 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9394 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9395 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9396 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9397 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9398 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9403 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9404 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9407 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9410 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9412 @item gnus-break-pages
9413 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9414 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9415 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9416 paging will not be done.
9418 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9419 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9420 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9425 @node Composing Messages
9426 @chapter Composing Messages
9427 @cindex composing messages
9430 @cindex sending mail
9435 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9436 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9437 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9438 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9439 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9440 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9443 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9444 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9445 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9446 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9447 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9448 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9449 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9450 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9453 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9454 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9460 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9463 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9464 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9465 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9466 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9468 @item gnus-add-to-list
9469 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9470 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9471 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9473 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9474 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9475 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9476 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9477 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9485 Variables for composing news articles:
9488 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9489 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9490 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9491 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9492 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9493 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9494 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9495 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9496 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
9499 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9500 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9501 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9502 file. It is 1000 by default.
9507 @node Posting Server
9508 @section Posting Server
9510 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9511 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9513 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9515 @vindex gnus-post-method
9517 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9518 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9519 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9520 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9521 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9524 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9527 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9528 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9529 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9530 the ``current'' server for posting.
9532 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9533 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9535 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9536 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9539 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9540 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9541 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9546 @section Mail and Post
9548 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9552 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9553 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9554 @cindex mailing lists
9556 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9557 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9558 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9559 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9560 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9561 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9562 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9563 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9564 still a pain, though.
9568 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9569 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9570 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9573 @findex ispell-message
9575 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9578 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9579 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9582 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9585 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9586 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9588 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9591 Modify to suit your needs.
9594 @node Archived Messages
9595 @section Archived Messages
9596 @cindex archived messages
9597 @cindex sent messages
9599 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9600 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9601 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9602 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9605 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9606 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9607 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9611 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9612 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9613 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9614 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9617 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9618 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9619 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9620 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9623 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9624 '(nnfolder "archive"
9625 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9626 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9627 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9630 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9632 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9633 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9634 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9636 This variable can be used to do the following:
9640 Messages will be saved in that group.
9641 @item a list of strings
9642 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9643 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9644 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9646 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9651 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9653 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9656 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9658 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9661 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9663 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9664 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9665 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9666 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9671 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9672 '((if (message-news-p)
9677 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9678 messages in one file per month:
9681 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9682 '((if (message-news-p)
9684 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9687 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9688 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9690 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9691 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9692 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9693 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9694 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9695 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9696 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9697 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9698 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9699 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9701 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9702 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9703 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9704 this will disable archiving.
9707 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9708 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9709 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9710 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9711 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9714 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9715 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9716 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9719 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9720 but the latter is the preferred method.
9724 @node Posting Styles
9725 @section Posting Styles
9726 @cindex posting styles
9729 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9731 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9732 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9733 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9736 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9737 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9738 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9739 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9740 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9745 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9746 (organization "What me?"))
9748 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9749 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9750 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9753 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9754 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9755 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9756 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9757 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9758 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9759 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9760 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9762 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9763 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9764 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9765 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9766 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9767 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9768 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9769 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9772 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9773 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9774 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9775 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9776 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9777 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9778 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9779 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9780 result is thrown away.
9782 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9783 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9784 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9785 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9786 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9787 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9789 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9790 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9791 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9793 @findex message-mail-p
9794 @findex message-news-p
9796 So here's a new example:
9799 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9801 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9803 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9804 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9806 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9807 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9808 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9810 (signature my-news-signature))
9811 (header "From.*To" "larsi.*org"
9812 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9813 ((posting-from-work-p)
9814 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9815 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9816 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9817 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9819 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9827 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9828 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9829 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9830 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9831 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9833 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9834 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9835 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9836 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9837 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9841 @vindex nndraft-directory
9842 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9843 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9844 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9845 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9846 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9847 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9849 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9850 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9853 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9854 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9855 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9856 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9857 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9858 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9859 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9860 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9861 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9862 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9863 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9864 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9865 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9866 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9868 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9869 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9870 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9872 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9874 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9875 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9876 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9878 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9881 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9882 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9883 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9884 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9885 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9886 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9887 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9890 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9891 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9892 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9895 @node Rejected Articles
9896 @section Rejected Articles
9897 @cindex rejected articles
9899 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9900 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9901 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9902 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9904 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
9905 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9906 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9907 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
9908 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9910 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9911 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9912 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9915 @node Select Methods
9916 @chapter Select Methods
9917 @cindex foreign groups
9918 @cindex select methods
9920 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9921 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9922 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9923 personal mail group.
9925 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9926 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9927 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9928 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9929 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9930 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9932 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9933 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9935 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9938 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9939 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9940 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9941 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9942 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9944 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9947 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9948 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9949 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9950 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9951 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9952 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9953 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9957 @node The Server Buffer
9958 @section The Server Buffer
9960 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9961 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9962 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9963 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9964 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9965 backend represents a virtual server.
9967 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9968 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9969 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9970 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9972 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9973 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9974 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9975 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9976 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9977 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9978 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9980 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9981 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9984 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9985 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9986 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9987 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
9988 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
9989 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
9990 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
9993 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
9994 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
9997 @node Server Buffer Format
9998 @subsection Server Buffer Format
9999 @cindex server buffer format
10001 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10002 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10003 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10004 variable, with some simple extensions:
10009 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10012 The name of this server.
10015 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10018 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10021 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10022 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10023 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10024 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10034 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10037 @node Server Commands
10038 @subsection Server Commands
10039 @cindex server commands
10045 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10046 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10050 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10051 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10054 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10055 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10056 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10060 @findex gnus-server-exit
10061 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10065 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10066 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10070 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10071 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10075 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10076 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10080 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10081 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10085 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10086 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10087 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10092 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10093 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10094 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10095 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10100 @node Example Methods
10101 @subsection Example Methods
10103 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10106 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10109 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10115 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10116 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10119 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10120 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10122 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10123 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10127 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10130 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10131 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10133 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10134 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10135 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10139 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10142 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10145 Here's the method for a public spool:
10149 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10150 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10153 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10154 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10155 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10156 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10157 should probably look something like this:
10161 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10162 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10163 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10164 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10165 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10168 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10169 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10170 server that would look something like this:
10174 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10175 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10176 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10177 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10178 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10179 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10182 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10183 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10184 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10185 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10188 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10189 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10191 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10192 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10194 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10195 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10196 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10198 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10200 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10201 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10202 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10203 will contain the following:
10213 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10214 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10215 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10218 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10219 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10220 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10223 @node Server Variables
10224 @subsection Server Variables
10226 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10227 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10228 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10229 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10230 won't change the "derived" variables.
10232 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10233 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10234 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10235 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10236 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10237 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10238 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10239 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10240 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10244 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10245 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10246 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10250 @node Servers and Methods
10251 @subsection Servers and Methods
10253 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10254 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10255 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10256 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10260 @node Unavailable Servers
10261 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10263 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10264 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10265 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10266 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10267 actually the case or not.
10269 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10270 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10271 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10272 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10273 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10274 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10275 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10276 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10278 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10279 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10281 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10282 with the following commands:
10288 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10289 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10290 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10294 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10295 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10296 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10300 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10301 Mark the current server as unreachable
10302 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10305 @kindex M-o (Server)
10306 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10307 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10308 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10311 @kindex M-c (Server)
10312 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10313 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10314 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10318 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10319 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10320 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10326 @section Getting News
10327 @cindex reading news
10328 @cindex news backends
10330 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10331 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10332 or it can read from a local spool.
10335 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10336 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10341 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10344 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10345 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10346 server as the, uhm, address.
10348 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10349 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10350 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10351 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10353 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10354 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10355 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10357 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10362 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10363 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10364 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10366 @cindex authentification
10367 @cindex nntp authentification
10368 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10369 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10370 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10371 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10372 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10373 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10374 present in this hook.
10376 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10377 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10378 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10379 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10380 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10381 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10382 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10383 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10384 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10385 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10386 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10387 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10391 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10394 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
10395 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10396 @samp{default}, @samp{port} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a
10397 valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is almost the only way the
10398 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
10403 Here's an example file:
10406 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10407 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10410 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10411 have to be first, for instance.
10413 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10414 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10415 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10416 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10417 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10418 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10419 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10421 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10422 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10428 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10429 previously mentioned.
10431 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10433 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10434 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10435 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10436 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10437 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10440 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10441 '(("innd" (ding))))
10444 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10446 The default value is
10449 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10450 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10453 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10454 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10456 @item nntp-maximum-request
10457 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10458 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10459 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10460 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10461 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10462 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10463 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10465 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10466 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10467 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10468 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10469 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10470 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10471 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10472 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10473 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10474 no timeouts are done.
10476 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10477 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10478 @c @cindex PPP connections
10479 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10480 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10481 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10482 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10483 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10484 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10485 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10486 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10487 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10488 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10490 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10491 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10492 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10493 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10494 @c described above.
10496 @item nntp-server-hook
10497 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10498 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10501 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10502 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10503 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10504 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10505 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10506 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10507 functions are supplied:
10510 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10511 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10514 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10515 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10516 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10519 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10523 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10524 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10525 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10526 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10528 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10529 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10530 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10532 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10533 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10534 User name on the remote system.
10538 @item nntp-open-telnet
10539 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10540 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10542 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10545 @item nntp-telnet-command
10546 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10547 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10549 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10550 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10551 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10553 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10554 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10555 User name for log in on the remote system.
10557 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10558 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10559 Password to use when logging in.
10561 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10562 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10563 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10566 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10567 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10568 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10569 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10571 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10572 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10573 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10574 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10575 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10579 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10580 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10581 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10582 you must have SSLay installed
10583 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10584 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10585 define a server as follows:
10588 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10590 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10592 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10593 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10594 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10595 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10600 @item nntp-end-of-line
10601 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10602 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10603 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10604 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10606 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10607 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10608 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10612 @vindex nntp-address
10613 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10615 @item nntp-port-number
10616 @vindex nntp-port-number
10617 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10620 @item nntp-buggy-select
10621 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10622 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10624 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10625 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10626 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10627 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10630 @item nntp-xover-commands
10631 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10634 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10635 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10639 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10640 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10641 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10642 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10643 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10644 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10645 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10646 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10647 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10648 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10649 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10651 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10652 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10653 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10655 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10656 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10657 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10658 server closes connection.
10660 @item nntp-record-commands
10661 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10662 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10663 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10664 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10665 that doesn't seem to work.
10671 @subsection News Spool
10675 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10676 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10677 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10680 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10681 anything else) as the address.
10683 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10684 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10685 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10686 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10690 @item nnspool-inews-program
10691 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10692 Program used to post an article.
10694 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10695 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10696 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10698 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10699 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10700 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10701 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10703 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10704 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10705 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10706 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10708 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10709 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10710 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10712 @item nnspool-active-file
10713 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10714 The path to the active file.
10716 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10717 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10718 The path to the group descriptions file.
10720 @item nnspool-history-file
10721 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10722 The path to the news history file.
10724 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10725 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10726 The path to the active date file.
10728 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10729 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10730 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10733 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10734 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10736 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10737 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10738 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10744 @section Getting Mail
10745 @cindex reading mail
10748 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10752 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10753 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10754 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10755 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10756 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10757 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10758 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10759 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10760 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10761 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10762 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10763 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10764 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10768 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10769 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10771 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10772 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10773 of a culture shock.
10775 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10776 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10778 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10779 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10780 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10781 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10783 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10785 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10786 deleted? How awful!
10788 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10789 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10790 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10791 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10794 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10795 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10796 they want to treat a message.
10798 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10799 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10800 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10801 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10802 archived somewhere else.
10804 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10805 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10806 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10807 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10808 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10810 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10811 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10812 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10814 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10815 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10818 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10819 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10820 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10821 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10822 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10824 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10825 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10826 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10827 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10828 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10829 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10833 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10834 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10836 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10837 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10838 and things will happen automatically.
10840 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10841 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10844 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10845 '((nnml "private")))
10848 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10849 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10850 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10851 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10852 like any other group.
10854 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10857 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10858 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10859 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10863 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10864 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10865 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10868 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10869 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10870 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10873 @node Splitting Mail
10874 @subsection Splitting Mail
10875 @cindex splitting mail
10876 @cindex mail splitting
10878 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10879 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10880 to be split into groups.
10883 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10884 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10885 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10886 ("mail.other" "")))
10889 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10890 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10891 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10892 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10893 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10894 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10895 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10898 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10901 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10902 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10903 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10904 mail belongs in that group.
10906 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10907 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10908 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10909 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10910 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10911 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10913 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10914 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10915 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10916 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10917 thinks should carry this mail message.
10919 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10920 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10921 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10922 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10924 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10925 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10926 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10927 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10928 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10930 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10933 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10934 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10935 links. If that's the case for you, set
10936 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10937 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10939 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10940 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10941 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10942 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
10944 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10945 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10946 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10947 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10948 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10949 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10950 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10951 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10952 month's rent money.
10956 @subsection Mail Sources
10958 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10959 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
10963 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10964 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10965 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10969 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10970 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10972 @cindex mail server
10975 @cindex mail source
10977 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
10978 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
10983 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
10986 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
10987 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
10988 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
10991 The following mail source types are available:
10995 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11001 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11002 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11005 An example file mail source:
11008 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11011 Or using the default path:
11017 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11018 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not you ange-ftp
11019 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11022 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11026 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11029 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11033 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11036 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11038 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11041 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11045 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11046 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11047 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11048 scan the mail source only once.
11054 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11058 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11062 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11063 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11064 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11065 predicate are considered.
11069 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11073 An example directory mail source:
11076 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11081 Get mail from a POP server.
11087 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11088 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11091 The port number of the POP server. The default is @samp{pop3}.
11094 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11098 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11102 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11103 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11106 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11109 The valid format specifier characters are:
11113 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11114 included in this string.
11117 The name of the server.
11120 The port number of the server.
11123 The user name to use.
11126 The password to use.
11129 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11130 corresponding keywords.
11133 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11134 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11137 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11138 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11141 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11142 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11145 @item :authentication
11146 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11147 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11152 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11153 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11155 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11156 default user name, and default fetcher:
11162 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11165 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11166 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11169 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11172 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11176 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11177 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11178 contains exactly one mail.
11184 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11185 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11188 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11189 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11191 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11192 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11193 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11196 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11197 from locking problems).
11201 Two example maildir mail sources:
11204 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11208 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11212 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11213 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11214 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11215 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11221 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11222 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11225 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11226 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11229 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11233 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11237 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11238 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11239 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11241 @item :authenticator
11242 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11243 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11244 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11248 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11249 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11252 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11253 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11254 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11255 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11256 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11257 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11260 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{Deleted}
11261 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{Seen} which
11262 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11263 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11266 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11267 after finishing the fetch.
11271 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11274 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11278 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11279 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11281 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11284 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11285 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11287 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11293 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11294 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11297 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11301 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11305 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11306 folder after finishing the fetch.
11310 An example webmail source:
11313 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11318 @item Common Keywords
11319 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11325 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11326 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11330 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11335 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11336 useful when you use local mail and news.
11341 @node Mail Source Customization
11342 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11344 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11345 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11349 @item mail-source-crash-box
11350 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11351 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11352 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11354 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11355 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11356 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11358 @item mail-source-directory
11359 @vindex mail-source-directory
11360 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11361 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11362 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11365 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11366 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11367 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11372 @node Fetching Mail
11373 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11375 @vindex mail-sources
11376 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11377 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11378 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11379 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11381 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11382 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11385 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11386 mail server, you'd say something like:
11391 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11392 :password "secret")))
11395 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11399 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11400 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11403 :password "secret")))
11407 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11408 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11409 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11410 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11411 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11412 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11416 @node Mail Backend Variables
11417 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11419 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11423 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11424 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11425 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11426 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11428 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11429 @item nnmail-split-hook
11430 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11431 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11432 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11433 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11434 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11435 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11436 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11437 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11438 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11441 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11442 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11443 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11444 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11445 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11446 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11447 starting to handle the new mail) and
11448 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11449 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11450 default file modes the new mail files get:
11453 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11454 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11456 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11457 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11460 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11461 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11462 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11463 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11464 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11465 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11466 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11468 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11469 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11470 @findex delete-file
11471 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11473 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11474 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11475 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11476 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11477 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11482 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11483 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11484 @cindex mail splitting
11485 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11487 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11488 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11489 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11490 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11491 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11492 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11494 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11497 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11498 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11499 ;; from real errors.
11500 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11502 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11503 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11504 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11505 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11506 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11507 ;; Other mailing lists...
11508 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11509 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11510 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11511 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11512 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11513 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11514 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11515 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11517 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11518 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11522 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11523 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11524 the five possible split syntaxes:
11529 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11530 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11534 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11535 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11536 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11537 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11538 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11539 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11540 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11541 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11544 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11545 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11546 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11547 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11550 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11551 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11554 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11555 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11558 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11559 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11560 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11561 function should return a @var{split}.
11564 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11565 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11566 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11570 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11574 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11575 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11576 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11577 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11578 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11580 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11581 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11582 are expanded as specified by the variable
11583 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11584 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11587 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11588 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11589 when all this splitting is performed.
11591 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11592 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11593 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11596 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11599 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11600 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11602 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11603 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11604 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11605 groupings 1 through 9.
11608 @node Group Mail Splitting
11609 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11610 @cindex mail splitting
11611 @cindex group mail splitting
11613 @findex gnus-group-split
11614 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11615 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11616 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11617 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11618 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11619 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11620 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11621 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11623 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11624 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11625 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11626 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11628 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11629 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11630 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11631 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11632 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11633 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11634 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11636 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11637 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11638 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11639 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11640 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11641 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11642 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11644 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11645 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11646 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11647 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11648 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11649 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11650 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11651 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11652 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11654 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11659 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11660 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11662 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11663 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11664 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11665 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11667 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11670 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11671 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11672 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11675 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11676 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11677 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11681 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11682 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11683 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11687 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11690 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11691 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11692 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11693 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11694 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11695 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11696 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11697 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11698 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11700 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11701 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11702 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11703 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11704 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11705 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11706 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11707 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11708 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11710 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11711 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11712 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11713 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11714 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11715 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11718 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11721 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11722 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11723 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11724 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11725 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11728 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11729 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11730 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11731 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11733 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11734 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11736 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11737 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11738 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11741 Doing so can be quite easy.
11743 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11744 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11745 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11746 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11747 your @code{nnml} groups.
11753 Go to the group buffer.
11756 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11757 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11760 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11763 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11764 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11767 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11768 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11771 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11772 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11773 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11774 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11775 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11777 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11778 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11779 using the new mail backend.
11782 @node Expiring Mail
11783 @subsection Expiring Mail
11784 @cindex article expiry
11786 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11787 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11788 different approach to mail reading.
11790 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11791 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11792 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11793 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11794 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11795 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11798 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11799 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11800 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11801 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11802 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11803 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11804 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11805 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11807 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11808 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11809 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11810 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11811 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11812 column in the summary buffer.
11814 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11815 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11816 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11817 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11820 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11822 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11823 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11824 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11827 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11828 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11829 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11830 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11831 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11833 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11834 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11837 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11838 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11841 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11842 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11844 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11845 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11846 don't really mix very well.
11848 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11849 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11850 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11851 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11854 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11855 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11856 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11857 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11860 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11862 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11864 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11866 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11868 ((string= group "important")
11874 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11875 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11877 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11878 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11879 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11882 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11883 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11885 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
11886 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
11887 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
11888 other groups instead of deleting them. The @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
11889 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
11890 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
11891 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
11892 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
11893 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
11894 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
11897 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11898 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11899 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11900 easier for procmail users.
11902 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11903 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11904 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11905 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11906 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11907 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11908 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11909 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
11910 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
11911 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
11912 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
11913 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
11914 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
11917 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
11919 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
11920 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
11921 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
11922 auto-expire turned on.
11926 @subsection Washing Mail
11927 @cindex mail washing
11928 @cindex list server brain damage
11929 @cindex incoming mail treatment
11931 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
11932 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
11933 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
11934 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
11935 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
11936 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
11938 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
11939 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
11940 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
11943 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
11944 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
11945 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
11946 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
11949 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11950 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11951 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
11952 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
11953 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
11956 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11957 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11958 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
11959 Emacs running on MS machines.
11963 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11964 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11965 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
11966 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
11969 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11970 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11971 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
11972 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
11974 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11975 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11976 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
11977 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
11978 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
11979 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
11980 also be a list of regexp.
11982 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
11983 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
11986 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
11987 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
11990 This can also be done non-destructively with
11991 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
11993 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
11994 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
11995 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
11997 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
11998 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12000 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12001 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12002 @code{References} headers.
12006 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12007 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12008 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12012 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12013 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12014 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12021 @subsection Duplicates
12023 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12024 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12025 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12026 @cindex duplicate mails
12027 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12028 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12029 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12030 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12031 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12032 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12033 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12034 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12035 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12036 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12037 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12038 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12039 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12041 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12042 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12043 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12044 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12046 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12049 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12050 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12054 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12055 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12056 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12057 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12058 (any mail "mail.misc")
12065 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12066 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12071 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12072 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12073 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12074 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12075 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12078 @node Not Reading Mail
12079 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12081 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12082 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12083 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12085 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12086 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12087 mail, which should help.
12089 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12090 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12091 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12092 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12093 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12094 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12095 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12096 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12097 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12098 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12099 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12101 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12102 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12106 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12107 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12109 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12110 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12111 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12113 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12114 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12115 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12116 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12119 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12120 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12121 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12122 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12123 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12124 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12128 @node Unix Mail Box
12129 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12131 @cindex unix mail box
12133 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12134 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12135 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12136 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12137 which group it belongs in.
12139 Virtual server settings:
12142 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12143 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12144 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12146 @item nnmbox-active-file
12147 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12148 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12150 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12151 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12152 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12158 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12162 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12163 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12164 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12165 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12166 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12168 Virtual server settings:
12171 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12172 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12173 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12175 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12176 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12177 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12179 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12180 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12181 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12186 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12188 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12190 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12191 format. It should be used with some caution.
12193 @vindex nnml-directory
12194 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12195 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12196 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12197 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12199 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12202 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12203 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12204 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12205 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12206 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12207 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12208 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12209 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12211 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12212 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12213 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12214 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12216 Virtual server settings:
12219 @item nnml-directory
12220 @vindex nnml-directory
12221 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12223 @item nnml-active-file
12224 @vindex nnml-active-file
12225 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12227 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12228 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12229 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12232 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12233 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12234 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12236 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12237 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12238 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12240 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12241 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12242 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12244 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12245 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12246 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12250 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12251 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12252 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12253 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12254 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12255 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12256 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12261 @subsubsection MH Spool
12263 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12265 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12266 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12267 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12268 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12270 Virtual server settings:
12273 @item nnmh-directory
12274 @vindex nnmh-directory
12275 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12277 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12278 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12279 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12282 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12283 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12284 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12285 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12286 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12287 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12288 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12293 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12295 @cindex mbox folders
12296 @cindex mail folders
12298 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12299 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12300 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12303 Virtual server settings:
12306 @item nnfolder-directory
12307 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12308 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12310 @item nnfolder-active-file
12311 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12312 The name of the active file.
12314 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12315 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12316 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12318 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12319 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12320 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12322 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12323 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12324 @cindex backup files
12325 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12326 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12327 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12328 your @file{.emacs} file:
12331 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12332 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12334 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12337 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12338 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12339 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12340 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12341 extract some information from it before removing it.
12346 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12347 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12348 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12349 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12350 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12351 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12354 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12355 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12357 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12358 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12359 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12360 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12361 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12363 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12364 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12365 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12366 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12367 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12368 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12369 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12370 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12373 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12374 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12375 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12376 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12381 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12382 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12383 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12384 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12385 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12386 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12387 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12388 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12389 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12390 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12391 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12392 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12393 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12398 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12399 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12400 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12401 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12402 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12403 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12404 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12405 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12406 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12407 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12408 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12409 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12410 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12411 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12413 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12414 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12419 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12420 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12421 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12422 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12423 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12424 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12425 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12426 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12427 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12428 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12429 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12430 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12431 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12432 provided by the active file and overviews.
12434 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12435 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12436 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12437 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12438 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12441 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12442 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12447 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12448 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12449 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12450 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12451 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12452 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12453 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12457 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12458 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12459 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12460 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12461 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12462 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12463 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12464 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12465 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12467 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12468 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12469 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12470 friendly mail backend all over.
12475 @node Browsing the Web
12476 @section Browsing the Web
12478 @cindex browsing the web
12482 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12483 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12484 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12485 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12486 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12487 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12488 even know what a news group is.
12490 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12491 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12492 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12493 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12494 you mad in the end.
12496 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12499 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12500 interfaces to these sources.
12503 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12504 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12505 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12506 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12507 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12510 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12512 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12513 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12514 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12515 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12516 though, you should be ok.
12518 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12519 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12520 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12521 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12522 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12526 @subsection Web Searches
12530 @cindex InReference
12531 @cindex Usenet searches
12532 @cindex searching the Usenet
12534 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12535 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12536 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12537 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12538 searches without having to use a browser.
12540 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12541 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12542 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12543 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12544 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12546 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12547 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12548 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12549 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12550 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12551 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12552 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12553 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12554 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12555 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12558 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12559 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12560 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12561 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12562 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12563 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12565 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12566 to use @code{nnweb}.
12568 Virtual server variables:
12573 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12574 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12578 @vindex nnweb-search
12579 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12581 @item nnweb-max-hits
12582 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12583 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12586 @item nnweb-type-definition
12587 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12588 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12589 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12594 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12598 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12601 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12604 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12608 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12615 @subsection Slashdot
12619 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12620 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12621 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12623 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12624 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12627 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12628 '((nnslashdot "")))
12631 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12632 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12633 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12634 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12635 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12638 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12639 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12641 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12642 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12643 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12644 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12645 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12646 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12649 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12652 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12653 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12654 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12655 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12656 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12657 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12658 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12660 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12661 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12662 The login name to use when posting.
12664 @item nnslashdot-password
12665 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12666 The password to use when posting.
12668 @item nnslashdot-directory
12669 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12670 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12671 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12673 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12674 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12675 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12676 news articles and comments. The default is
12677 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12679 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12680 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12681 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12683 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12685 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12686 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12687 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12689 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12691 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12692 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12693 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12695 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12696 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12697 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12698 updated. The default is 0.
12705 @subsection Ultimate
12707 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12709 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12710 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12711 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12712 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12714 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12715 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12716 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12717 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12718 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12719 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12720 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12722 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12725 @item nnultimate-directory
12726 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12727 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12728 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12733 @subsection Web Archive
12735 @cindex Web Archive
12737 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12738 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12739 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12740 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12743 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12744 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12745 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12746 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12747 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12748 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12749 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12751 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12754 @item nnwarchive-directory
12755 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12756 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12757 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12759 @item nnwarchive-login
12760 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12761 The account name on the web server.
12763 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12764 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12765 The password for your account on the web server.
12769 @node Customizing w3
12770 @subsection Customizing w3
12776 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12777 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12778 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12780 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12781 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12782 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12785 (eval-after-load "w3"
12787 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12788 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12789 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12790 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12792 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12795 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12796 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12800 @node Other Sources
12801 @section Other Sources
12803 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12804 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12808 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12809 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12810 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12811 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12812 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12813 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12817 @node Directory Groups
12818 @subsection Directory Groups
12820 @cindex directory groups
12822 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12823 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12826 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12827 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12828 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12829 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12831 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12832 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12833 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12834 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12835 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12837 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12839 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12840 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12841 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12842 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12845 @node Anything Groups
12846 @subsection Anything Groups
12849 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12850 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12851 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12854 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12855 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12856 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12857 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12858 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12859 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12860 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12861 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12862 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12863 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12866 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12867 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12868 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12869 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12871 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12872 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12873 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12874 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12876 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12877 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12878 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12879 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12880 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12881 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12882 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12883 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12888 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12889 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12890 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12891 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12893 @item nneething-exclude-files
12894 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12895 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12896 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12898 @item nneething-include-files
12899 @vindex nneething-include-files
12900 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12901 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12903 @item nneething-map-file
12904 @vindex nneething-map-file
12905 Name of the map files.
12909 @node Document Groups
12910 @subsection Document Groups
12912 @cindex documentation group
12915 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
12916 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
12923 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
12928 The standard Unix mbox file.
12930 @cindex MMDF mail box
12932 The MMDF mail box format.
12935 Several news articles appended into a file.
12938 @cindex rnews batch files
12939 The rnews batch transport format.
12940 @cindex forwarded messages
12943 Forwarded articles.
12946 Netscape mail boxes.
12949 MIME multipart messages.
12951 @item standard-digest
12952 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
12955 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
12958 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
12959 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
12960 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
12963 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
12964 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
12965 group. And that's it.
12967 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
12968 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
12969 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
12970 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
12971 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
12972 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
12973 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
12974 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
12975 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
12976 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
12978 Virtual server variables:
12981 @item nndoc-article-type
12982 @vindex nndoc-article-type
12983 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
12984 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
12985 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
12986 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
12988 @item nndoc-post-type
12989 @vindex nndoc-post-type
12990 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
12991 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
12996 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13000 @node Document Server Internals
13001 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13003 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13004 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13005 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13006 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13008 First, here's an example document type definition:
13012 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13013 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13016 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13017 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13018 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13019 types can be defined with very few settings:
13022 @item first-article
13023 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13024 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13027 @item article-begin
13028 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13029 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13031 @item head-begin-function
13032 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13035 @item nndoc-head-begin
13036 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13039 @item nndoc-head-end
13040 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13041 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13043 @item body-begin-function
13044 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13048 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13051 @item body-end-function
13052 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13056 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13059 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13060 regexp will be totally ignored.
13064 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13065 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13066 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13067 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13068 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13071 @item prepare-body-function
13072 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13073 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13074 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13076 @item article-transform-function
13077 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13078 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13079 body of the article.
13081 @item generate-head-function
13082 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13083 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13084 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13085 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13089 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13094 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13095 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13096 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13097 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13098 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13099 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13100 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13101 (subtype digest guess))
13104 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13105 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13106 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13107 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13108 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13110 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13111 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13112 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13113 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13114 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
13115 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13116 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13117 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13118 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13119 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13127 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13128 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13129 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13131 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13132 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13133 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13136 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13137 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13138 that interested in doing things properly.
13140 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13141 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13144 First some terminology:
13149 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13150 get news and/or mail from.
13153 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13154 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13157 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13161 @item message packets
13162 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13163 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13164 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13166 @item response packets
13167 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13168 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13169 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13179 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13180 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13181 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13182 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13185 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13188 You put the packet in your home directory.
13191 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13192 the native or secondary server.
13195 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13196 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13199 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13203 You transfer this packet to the server.
13206 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13209 You then repeat until you die.
13213 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13214 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13217 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13218 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13219 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13223 @node SOUP Commands
13224 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13226 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13230 @kindex G s b (Group)
13231 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13232 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13233 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13234 process/prefix convention.
13237 @kindex G s w (Group)
13238 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13239 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13242 @kindex G s s (Group)
13243 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13244 Send all replies from the replies packet
13245 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13248 @kindex G s p (Group)
13249 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13250 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13253 @kindex G s r (Group)
13254 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13255 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13258 @kindex O s (Summary)
13259 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13260 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13261 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13262 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13267 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13272 @item gnus-soup-directory
13273 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13274 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13275 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13277 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13278 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13279 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13280 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13282 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13283 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13284 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13285 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13287 @item gnus-soup-packer
13288 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13289 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13290 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13292 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13293 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13294 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13295 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13297 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13298 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13299 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13301 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13302 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13303 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13304 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13310 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13313 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13314 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13315 you can read them at leisure.
13317 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13321 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13322 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13323 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13324 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13326 @item nnsoup-directory
13327 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13328 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13329 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13331 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13332 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13333 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13334 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13336 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13337 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13338 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13339 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13340 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13342 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13343 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13344 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13345 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13347 @item nnsoup-active-file
13348 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13349 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13350 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13351 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13352 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13354 @item nnsoup-packer
13355 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13356 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13357 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13359 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13360 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13361 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13362 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13364 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13365 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13366 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13369 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13370 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13371 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13374 @item nnsoup-always-save
13375 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13376 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13382 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13384 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13385 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13386 more for that to happen.
13388 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13389 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13390 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13393 In specific, this is what it does:
13396 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13397 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13400 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13401 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13402 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13405 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13406 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13407 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13410 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13411 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13412 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13414 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13420 @item nngateway-address
13421 @vindex nngateway-address
13422 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13424 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13425 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13426 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13427 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13428 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13429 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13430 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13433 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13434 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13435 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13438 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13441 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13444 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13447 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13449 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13452 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13453 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13454 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13456 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13458 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13459 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13460 @code{nngateway-address}.
13465 (setq gnus-post-method
13466 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13467 (nngateway-header-transformation
13468 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13476 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13479 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13485 @subsection @sc{imap}
13489 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13490 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13491 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13492 network address of the server.
13494 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13499 @item nnimap-address
13500 @vindex nnimap-address
13502 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13503 server name if not specified.
13505 @item nnimap-server-port
13506 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13507 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13509 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13510 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13511 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13512 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13513 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13514 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13515 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13517 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13518 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13519 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13525 ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*" ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))
13528 @item nnimap-stream
13529 @vindex nnimap-stream
13530 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13531 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13532 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13533 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13537 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13538 @samp{imtest} program.
13540 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13542 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13543 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13546 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13547 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13549 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13552 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13553 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x.
13555 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13556 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13557 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of SSLeay,
13558 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it useless. Earlier
13559 versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to work.
13561 @item nnimap-authenticator
13562 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13564 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13565 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13569 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13570 external program @code{imtest}.
13572 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13575 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13576 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13578 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13580 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13582 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13585 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13587 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13588 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13589 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13590 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13591 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13592 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13595 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13596 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13597 running in circles yet?
13599 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13600 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13603 The possible options are:
13608 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13611 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13612 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13613 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13614 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13616 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13623 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13624 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13625 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13630 @node Splitting in IMAP
13631 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13632 @cindex splitting imap mail
13634 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13635 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13636 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13637 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13638 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13642 Here are the variables of interest:
13646 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13647 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13649 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13651 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13652 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13654 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13656 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13657 @cindex splitting, inbox
13659 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13661 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13662 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13666 (setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13669 No nnmail equivalent.
13671 @item nnimap-split-rule
13672 @cindex Splitting, rules
13673 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13675 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13678 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13679 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13680 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13681 Neither did I, we need examples.
13684 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13685 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13686 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13687 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13690 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13691 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13692 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13694 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13695 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13699 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13702 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13703 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13704 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13705 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13707 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13708 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13709 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13710 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13711 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13712 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13714 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13715 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13716 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13718 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13719 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13720 thinks the article should be splitted to.
13722 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13724 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13726 @item nnimap-split-predicate
13728 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
13730 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
13731 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
13733 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
13734 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
13735 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
13738 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13739 @cindex splitting, fancy
13740 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13741 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13743 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13744 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13745 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13747 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13748 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13749 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13750 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13755 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13756 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13759 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13763 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13764 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13765 @cindex editing imap acls
13766 @cindex Access Control Lists
13767 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13769 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13771 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13772 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13773 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13776 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13777 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13778 editing window with detailed instructions.
13780 Some possible uses:
13784 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13785 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13786 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13788 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13789 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13790 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13794 @node Expunging mailboxes
13795 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13799 @cindex Manual expunging
13801 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13803 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13804 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13805 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13807 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13812 @node Combined Groups
13813 @section Combined Groups
13815 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13819 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13820 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13824 @node Virtual Groups
13825 @subsection Virtual Groups
13827 @cindex virtual groups
13828 @cindex merging groups
13830 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13833 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13834 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
13835 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
13837 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
13838 regexp to match component groups.
13840 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
13841 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
13842 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
13843 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
13844 the virtual group.)
13846 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
13847 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
13850 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
13853 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
13854 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
13856 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
13857 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
13858 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
13859 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
13862 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
13865 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
13866 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
13867 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
13869 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
13870 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
13871 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
13872 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
13873 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
13875 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
13876 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
13877 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
13879 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
13880 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
13881 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
13882 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13883 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
13884 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
13885 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
13886 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
13887 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
13888 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
13889 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
13891 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
13892 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
13893 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
13894 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
13895 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
13896 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
13897 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
13899 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
13900 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
13904 @node Kibozed Groups
13905 @subsection Kibozed Groups
13909 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
13910 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
13911 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
13912 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
13914 @kindex G k (Group)
13915 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
13918 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
13919 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
13920 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
13921 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
13923 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
13924 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
13925 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
13927 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
13928 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
13929 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
13930 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
13931 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
13932 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
13933 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
13934 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
13936 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
13937 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
13938 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
13939 Stranger things have happened.
13941 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
13942 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
13944 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
13945 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
13946 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
13947 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
13948 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
13949 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
13951 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
13952 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
13955 @node Gnus Unplugged
13956 @section Gnus Unplugged
13961 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
13963 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
13964 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
13965 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
13966 read news. Believe it or not.
13968 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
13969 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
13970 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
13971 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
13972 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
13974 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
13975 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
13976 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
13977 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
13978 reading news on a machine.
13980 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
13984 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
13985 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
13989 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
13990 @file{.gnus.el} file:
13997 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
13999 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14002 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14003 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14004 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14005 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14006 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14007 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14008 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14009 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14010 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14015 @subsection Agent Basics
14017 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14019 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14020 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14021 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14022 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14024 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14025 connected to the net continuously.
14027 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14028 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14030 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14035 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14036 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14037 already fetched while in this mode.
14040 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14041 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14042 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
14045 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14046 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
14047 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14048 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14051 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14052 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14053 then you read the news offline.
14056 And then you go to step 2.
14059 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14065 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14066 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14067 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14068 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14069 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14070 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14073 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14080 @node Agent Categories
14081 @subsection Agent Categories
14083 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14084 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14085 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14086 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14087 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14088 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14089 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14091 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14092 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14093 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14094 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14095 managing categories.
14098 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14099 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14100 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14104 @node Category Syntax
14105 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14107 A category consists of two things.
14111 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14112 are eligible for downloading; and
14115 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14116 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14117 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14120 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14121 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14122 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14123 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14125 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14126 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14127 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14129 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14130 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14131 operators sprinkled in between.
14133 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14135 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14136 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14142 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14143 short (for some value of ``short'').
14145 Here's a more complex predicate:
14154 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14155 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14158 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14159 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14160 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14162 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14163 you want to do, you can write your own.
14167 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14168 lines; default 100.
14171 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14172 lines; default 200.
14175 True iff the article has a download score less than
14176 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14179 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14180 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14183 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14184 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14185 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14194 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14195 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14196 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14199 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14200 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14201 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14202 something along the lines of the following:
14205 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14206 "Say whether an article is old."
14207 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14208 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14211 with the predicate then defined as:
14214 (not my-article-old-p)
14217 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14218 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14219 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14220 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14223 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14224 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14225 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14228 and simply specify your predicate as:
14234 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14235 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14236 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14237 just don't give a damm.
14239 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14240 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14241 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14242 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14243 parameters like so:
14246 (agent-predicate . short)
14249 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14250 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14251 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14253 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14256 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14259 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14260 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14261 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14264 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14265 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14266 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14267 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14268 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14269 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14271 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14272 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14273 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14274 if it's to be specific to that group.
14276 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14283 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14284 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14290 Category specification
14294 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14300 Group Parameter specification
14303 (agent-score ("from"
14304 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14309 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14315 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14322 Category specification
14325 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14331 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14335 Group Parameter specification
14338 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14341 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14346 Use @code{normal} score files
14348 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14349 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14350 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14351 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14353 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14354 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14355 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14356 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14360 Category Specification
14367 Group Parameter specification
14370 (agent-score . file)
14375 @node The Category Buffer
14376 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14378 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14379 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14380 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14382 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14386 @kindex q (Category)
14387 @findex gnus-category-exit
14388 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14391 @kindex k (Category)
14392 @findex gnus-category-kill
14393 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14396 @kindex c (Category)
14397 @findex gnus-category-copy
14398 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14401 @kindex a (Category)
14402 @findex gnus-category-add
14403 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14406 @kindex p (Category)
14407 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14408 Edit the predicate of the current category
14409 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14412 @kindex g (Category)
14413 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14414 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14415 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14418 @kindex s (Category)
14419 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14420 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14421 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14424 @kindex l (Category)
14425 @findex gnus-category-list
14426 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14430 @node Category Variables
14431 @subsubsection Category Variables
14434 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14435 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14436 Hook run in category buffers.
14438 @item gnus-category-line-format
14439 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14440 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14441 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14445 The name of the category.
14448 The number of groups in the category.
14451 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14452 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14453 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14455 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14456 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14457 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14459 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14460 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14461 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14463 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14464 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14465 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14468 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14469 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14470 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14476 @node Agent Commands
14477 @subsection Agent Commands
14479 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14480 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14481 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14485 * Group Agent Commands::
14486 * Summary Agent Commands::
14487 * Server Agent Commands::
14490 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14491 following incantation:
14493 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14495 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14500 @node Group Agent Commands
14501 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14505 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14506 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14507 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14508 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14511 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14512 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14513 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14516 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14517 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14518 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14519 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14522 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14523 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14524 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14525 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14528 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14529 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14530 Add the current group to an Agent category
14531 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14532 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14535 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14536 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14537 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14538 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14539 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14544 @node Summary Agent Commands
14545 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14549 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14550 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14551 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14554 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14555 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14556 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14557 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14560 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14561 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14562 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14565 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14566 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14567 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14572 @node Server Agent Commands
14573 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14577 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14578 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14579 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14580 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14583 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14584 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14585 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14586 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14592 @subsection Agent Expiry
14594 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14595 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14596 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14597 @cindex Agent expiry
14598 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14601 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14602 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14603 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14604 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14605 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14606 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14608 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14609 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14610 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14611 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14612 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14615 @node Outgoing Messages
14616 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14618 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14619 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14620 after posting, and edit them at will.
14622 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14623 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14624 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14625 messages in the draft group.
14629 @node Agent Variables
14630 @subsection Agent Variables
14633 @item gnus-agent-directory
14634 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14635 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14636 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14638 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14639 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14640 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14641 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14642 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14645 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14646 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14647 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14649 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14650 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14651 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
14656 @node Example Setup
14657 @subsection Example Setup
14659 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
14660 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
14661 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
14664 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
14665 ;;; from your ISP's server.
14666 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
14668 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
14669 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
14670 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
14672 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
14673 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14675 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
14679 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
14680 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
14683 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
14684 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
14685 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
14686 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
14687 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
14690 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
14691 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
14692 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
14693 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
14694 back all the killed groups.)
14696 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
14697 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
14698 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
14701 @node Batching Agents
14702 @subsection Batching Agents
14704 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
14705 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
14706 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
14710 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
14714 @node Agent Caveats
14715 @subsection Agent Caveats
14717 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
14718 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
14722 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
14727 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
14728 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14734 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14735 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14742 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14743 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14744 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14747 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14748 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14749 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14750 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14751 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14753 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14754 before generating the summary buffer.
14756 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14757 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14758 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14760 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14761 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14762 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14763 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14766 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14767 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14768 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14769 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14770 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
14771 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
14772 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
14773 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
14774 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
14775 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
14776 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
14777 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
14778 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
14779 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
14780 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
14781 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
14785 @node Summary Score Commands
14786 @section Summary Score Commands
14787 @cindex score commands
14789 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
14790 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
14791 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
14792 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
14793 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
14795 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
14796 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
14797 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
14798 score file the current one.
14800 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
14805 @kindex V s (Summary)
14806 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
14807 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
14810 @kindex V S (Summary)
14811 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
14812 Display the score of the current article
14813 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
14816 @kindex V t (Summary)
14817 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
14818 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
14819 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
14822 @kindex V R (Summary)
14823 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
14824 Run the current summary through the scoring process
14825 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
14826 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
14827 effect you're having.
14830 @kindex V c (Summary)
14831 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
14832 Make a different score file the current
14833 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
14836 @kindex V e (Summary)
14837 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
14838 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
14839 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
14843 @kindex V f (Summary)
14844 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
14845 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
14846 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
14849 @kindex V F (Summary)
14850 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14851 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
14852 after editing score files.
14855 @kindex V C (Summary)
14856 @findex gnus-score-customize
14857 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
14858 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
14862 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
14867 @kindex V m (Summary)
14868 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
14869 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
14870 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
14873 @kindex V x (Summary)
14874 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
14875 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
14876 expunge all articles below this score
14877 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
14880 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
14881 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
14884 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
14885 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
14889 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
14890 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
14892 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
14893 keys are available:
14897 Score on the author name.
14900 Score on the subject line.
14903 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
14906 Score on the @code{References} line.
14912 Score on the number of lines.
14915 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
14918 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
14919 the followups to this author.
14933 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
14934 what headers you are scoring on.
14946 Substring matching.
14949 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
14978 Greater than number.
14983 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
14984 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
14985 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
14989 Temporary score entry.
14992 Permanent score entry.
14995 Immediately scoring.
15000 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15001 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15002 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15003 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15005 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15006 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15007 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15008 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15009 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15011 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15012 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15013 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15014 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15015 current score file.
15017 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15018 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15019 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15022 @node Group Score Commands
15023 @section Group Score Commands
15024 @cindex group score commands
15026 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15031 @kindex W f (Group)
15032 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15033 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15034 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15035 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15039 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15041 @findex gnus-batch-score
15042 @cindex batch scoring
15044 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15048 @node Score Variables
15049 @section Score Variables
15050 @cindex score variables
15054 @item gnus-use-scoring
15055 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15056 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15057 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15059 @item gnus-kill-killed
15060 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15061 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15062 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15063 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15064 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15065 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15066 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15068 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15069 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15070 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15071 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15072 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15074 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15075 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15076 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15077 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15079 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15080 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15081 @cindex score cache
15082 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15083 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15084 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
15085 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15086 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15087 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15090 @item gnus-save-score
15091 @vindex gnus-save-score
15092 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15093 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15094 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15096 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15097 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15098 across group visits.
15100 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15101 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15102 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15103 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15104 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15105 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15106 manually entered data.
15108 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15109 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15110 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15112 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15113 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15114 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15115 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15116 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15117 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15119 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15120 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15121 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15122 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15124 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15125 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15126 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15127 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15129 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15130 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15131 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15132 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15134 Predefined functions available are:
15137 @item gnus-score-find-single
15138 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15139 Only apply the group's own score file.
15141 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15142 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15143 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15144 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15145 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15146 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15147 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15148 then a regexp match is done.
15150 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15151 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15153 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15154 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15155 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15156 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15158 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15159 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15160 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15161 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15162 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
15165 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15166 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
15167 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
15168 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
15169 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
15170 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
15173 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15174 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15175 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15176 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15177 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15179 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15180 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15181 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15182 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15183 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15184 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15185 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15188 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15189 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15190 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15192 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15193 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15194 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15195 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15196 threading---according to the current value of
15197 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15198 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15199 simplified in this manner.
15204 @node Score File Format
15205 @section Score File Format
15206 @cindex score file format
15208 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15209 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15210 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15212 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15216 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15218 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15220 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15222 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15227 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15231 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15232 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15233 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15234 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15238 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15239 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15241 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15242 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15243 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15245 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15250 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15251 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15252 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15253 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15254 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15255 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15256 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15257 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15258 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15259 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15260 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15261 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15262 to articles that matches these score entries.
15264 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15265 score entry has one to four elements.
15269 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15270 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15274 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15275 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15276 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15277 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15278 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15279 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15282 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15283 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15284 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15285 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15286 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15289 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15290 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15291 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15292 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15295 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15296 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15297 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15298 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15299 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15300 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15301 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15302 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15303 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15304 instead, if you feel like.
15307 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15308 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15310 These predicates are true if
15313 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15316 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15317 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15324 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15325 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15326 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15327 it's not. I think.)
15329 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15330 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15331 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15332 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15335 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15336 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15337 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15338 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15339 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15340 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15341 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15345 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15346 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15347 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15348 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15349 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15350 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15351 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15352 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15355 @item Head, Body, All
15356 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15360 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15361 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15362 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15363 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15364 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15365 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15366 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15370 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15371 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15372 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15373 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15374 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15375 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15376 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15377 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15378 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15379 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15380 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15384 @cindex Score File Atoms
15386 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15387 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15390 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15391 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15393 @item mark-and-expunge
15394 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15395 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15398 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15399 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15400 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15401 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15402 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15405 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15406 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15409 @item exclude-files
15410 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15411 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15415 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15416 ignored when handling global score files.
15419 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15420 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15421 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15422 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15425 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15426 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15427 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15428 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15430 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15434 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15437 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15438 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15439 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15440 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15441 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15443 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15444 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15445 ordinary scoring rules.
15448 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15449 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15450 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15451 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15452 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15453 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15454 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15455 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15456 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15457 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15458 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15462 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15463 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15464 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15465 file for a number of groups.
15468 @cindex local variables
15469 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15470 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15471 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15472 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15473 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15477 @node Score File Editing
15478 @section Score File Editing
15480 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15481 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15482 with a mode for that.
15484 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15485 additional commands:
15490 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15491 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15492 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15493 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15496 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15497 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15498 Insert the current date in numerical format
15499 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15500 you were wondering.
15503 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15504 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15505 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15506 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15507 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15512 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15514 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15515 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15517 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15518 e} to begin editing score files.
15521 @node Adaptive Scoring
15522 @section Adaptive Scoring
15523 @cindex adaptive scoring
15525 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15526 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15527 stupidity, to be precise.
15529 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15530 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15531 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15532 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15533 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15534 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15535 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15536 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15537 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15539 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15540 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15541 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15542 might look something like this:
15545 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15546 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15547 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15548 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15549 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15550 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15551 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15552 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15553 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15554 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15555 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15556 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15559 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15560 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15561 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15562 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15563 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15564 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15567 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15568 will be applied to each article.
15570 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15571 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15572 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15573 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15575 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15576 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15577 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15578 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15580 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15581 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15582 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15583 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15585 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15586 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15587 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15588 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15589 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15590 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15592 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15593 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15594 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15595 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15596 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15597 aspirins afterwards.)
15599 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15600 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15601 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15603 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15604 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15605 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15607 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15608 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15609 let you use different rules in different groups.
15611 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15612 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15613 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15616 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15617 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15618 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15619 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15620 the length of the match is less than
15621 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15622 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15625 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15626 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15627 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15628 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15629 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15632 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15633 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15634 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15635 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15636 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15639 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15640 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15641 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15642 score with 30 points.
15644 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15645 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
15646 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
15647 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
15648 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
15650 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
15651 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
15652 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
15653 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
15655 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
15656 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
15657 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
15658 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
15660 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
15661 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
15662 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
15663 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
15664 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
15666 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
15667 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
15668 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
15670 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
15671 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
15672 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
15673 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
15676 @node Home Score File
15677 @section Home Score File
15679 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
15680 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
15681 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
15682 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
15684 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
15685 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
15686 could perhaps use the same home score file.
15688 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
15689 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
15694 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
15698 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
15699 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
15703 A list. The elements in this list can be:
15707 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
15708 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
15711 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
15712 the home score file.
15715 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
15718 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
15723 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
15726 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15727 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
15730 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
15731 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15733 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15735 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15736 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15739 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15740 Other functions include
15743 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15744 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15745 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15746 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15750 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15751 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15752 their own home score files:
15755 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15756 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15757 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15758 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15759 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15762 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15763 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15764 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
15765 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
15766 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
15768 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
15769 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
15770 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
15771 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
15772 precedence over this variable.
15775 @node Followups To Yourself
15776 @section Followups To Yourself
15778 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
15779 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
15780 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
15781 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
15782 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
15783 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
15787 @item gnus-score-followup-article
15788 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
15789 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
15792 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
15793 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
15794 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
15798 @vindex message-sent-hook
15799 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
15800 @code{message-sent-hook}.
15802 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
15803 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
15807 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15808 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15811 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
15812 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
15817 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
15821 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
15822 is system-dependent.
15826 @section Scoring Tips
15827 @cindex scoring tips
15833 @cindex scoring crossposts
15834 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
15835 the @code{Xref} header.
15837 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
15840 @item Multiple crossposts
15841 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
15842 more than, say, 3 groups:
15844 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
15847 @item Matching on the body
15848 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
15849 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
15850 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
15851 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
15852 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
15853 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
15854 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
15857 @item Marking as read
15858 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
15859 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
15860 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
15864 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
15866 @item Negated character classes
15867 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
15868 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
15869 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
15873 @node Reverse Scoring
15874 @section Reverse Scoring
15875 @cindex reverse scoring
15877 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
15878 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
15879 like this in your score file:
15883 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
15888 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
15889 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
15892 @node Global Score Files
15893 @section Global Score Files
15894 @cindex global score files
15896 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
15897 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
15898 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
15900 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
15901 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
15902 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
15904 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
15905 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
15906 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
15907 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
15908 files are applicable to which group.
15910 Say you want to use the score file
15911 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
15912 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
15915 (setq gnus-global-score-files
15916 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
15917 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
15920 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
15921 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
15922 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
15923 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
15924 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
15926 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
15927 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
15929 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
15930 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
15931 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
15932 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
15933 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
15934 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
15936 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
15942 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
15944 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
15946 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
15948 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
15949 lowered out of existence.
15951 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
15952 articles completely.
15955 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
15956 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
15957 old articles for a long time.
15960 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
15961 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
15962 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
15963 holding our breath yet?
15967 @section Kill Files
15970 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
15971 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
15972 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
15974 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
15975 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
15976 files into score files.
15978 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
15979 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
15980 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
15981 that isn't a very good idea.
15983 Normal kill files look like this:
15986 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
15987 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
15991 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
15992 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
15994 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
15995 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
15998 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16003 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16004 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16005 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16008 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16009 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16010 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16013 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16018 @kindex M-k (Group)
16019 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16020 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16023 @kindex M-K (Group)
16024 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16025 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16028 Kill file variables:
16031 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16032 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16033 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16034 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16035 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16036 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16037 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16039 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16040 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16041 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16042 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16045 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16046 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16047 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16048 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16049 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16050 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16051 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16052 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16053 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16055 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16056 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16057 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16062 @node Converting Kill Files
16063 @section Converting Kill Files
16065 @cindex converting kill files
16067 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16068 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16069 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16072 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16073 You can fetch it from
16074 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
16076 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16077 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16078 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16086 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16087 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16088 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16090 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16091 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16092 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16093 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16094 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16095 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16096 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16097 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16101 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16102 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16103 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16104 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16108 @node Using GroupLens
16109 @subsection Using GroupLens
16111 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16113 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16114 better bit in town at the moment.
16116 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16120 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16121 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16122 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16123 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16125 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16126 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16127 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16128 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16130 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16131 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16132 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16136 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16137 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16138 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16139 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16140 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16141 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16144 @node Rating Articles
16145 @subsection Rating Articles
16147 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16148 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16149 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16150 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16153 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16158 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16159 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16160 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16163 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16164 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16165 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16166 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16167 threads in rec.humor.
16171 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16172 the score of the article you're reading.
16177 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16178 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16179 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16182 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16183 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16184 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16188 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16189 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16192 @node Displaying Predictions
16193 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16195 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16196 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16197 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16198 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16199 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16201 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16202 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16203 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16204 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16205 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16206 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16207 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16208 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16209 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16210 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16211 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16212 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16213 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16215 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16216 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16217 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16218 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16220 The following are valid values for that variable.
16223 @item prediction-spot
16224 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16227 @item confidence-interval
16228 A numeric confidence interval.
16230 @item prediction-bar
16231 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16233 @item confidence-bar
16234 Numerical confidence.
16236 @item confidence-spot
16237 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16239 @item prediction-num
16240 Plain-old numeric value.
16242 @item confidence-plus-minus
16243 Prediction +/- confidence.
16248 @node GroupLens Variables
16249 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16253 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16254 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16255 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16256 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16259 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16260 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16263 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16264 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16266 @item grouplens-score-offset
16267 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16268 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16271 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16272 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16273 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16278 @node Advanced Scoring
16279 @section Advanced Scoring
16281 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16282 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16283 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16284 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16285 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16287 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16291 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16292 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16293 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16297 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16298 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16300 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16301 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16302 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16303 non-@code{nil} value.
16305 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16306 operator, and various match operators.
16313 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16314 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16315 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16320 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16321 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16322 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16327 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16328 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16332 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16333 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16334 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16335 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16336 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16337 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16338 the ancestry you want to go.
16340 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16341 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16342 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16343 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16344 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16347 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16348 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16350 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16351 when he's talking about Gnus:
16355 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16356 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16362 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16366 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16373 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16374 really don't want to read what he's written:
16378 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16379 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16383 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16384 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16385 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16392 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16393 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16394 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16395 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16399 The possibilities are endless.
16402 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16403 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16405 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16406 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16407 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16408 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16409 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16410 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16411 @samp{subject}) first.
16413 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16414 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16425 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16426 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16432 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16439 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16440 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16445 @section Score Decays
16446 @cindex score decays
16449 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16450 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16451 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16452 use them in any sensible way.
16454 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16455 @findex gnus-decay-score
16456 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16457 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16458 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16459 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16460 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16461 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16462 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16463 definition of that function:
16466 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16468 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16469 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16472 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16474 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16476 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16479 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16480 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16481 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16482 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16486 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16489 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16492 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16496 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16497 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16498 the new score, which should be an integer.
16500 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16501 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16508 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16509 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16510 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16511 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16512 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16513 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16514 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16515 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16516 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16517 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16518 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16519 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16520 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16521 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16522 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16523 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16524 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16525 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16529 @node Process/Prefix
16530 @section Process/Prefix
16531 @cindex process/prefix convention
16533 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16534 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16536 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16537 command to be performed on.
16541 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16542 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16543 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16544 with the current one.
16546 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16547 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16548 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16550 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16551 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16554 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16555 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16557 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16560 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16561 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16562 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16563 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16565 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16566 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16567 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16568 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16569 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16570 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16571 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16572 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16574 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16575 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16576 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16577 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16578 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16582 @section Interactive
16583 @cindex interaction
16587 @item gnus-novice-user
16588 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16589 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16590 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16591 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16592 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16595 @item gnus-expert-user
16596 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16597 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16598 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16599 matter how strange.
16601 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16602 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16603 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16604 is @code{t} by default.
16606 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16607 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16608 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16613 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16614 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16615 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16617 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16618 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16619 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16620 rule of 900 to the current article.
16622 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16623 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16624 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16625 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16626 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16627 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16628 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16630 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16631 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16632 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16633 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16634 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16635 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16636 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16637 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16638 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16640 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16641 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16642 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16644 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
16648 @node Formatting Variables
16649 @section Formatting Variables
16650 @cindex formatting variables
16652 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
16653 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
16654 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
16655 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
16656 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
16659 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
16660 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
16661 lots of percentages everywhere.
16664 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
16665 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
16666 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
16667 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
16668 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
16671 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
16672 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
16673 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
16674 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
16675 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
16676 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
16677 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
16678 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
16680 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
16681 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
16683 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
16684 @findex gnus-update-format
16685 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
16686 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
16687 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
16688 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
16692 @node Formatting Basics
16693 @subsection Formatting Basics
16695 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
16696 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
16697 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
16699 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
16700 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
16701 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
16702 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
16703 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
16706 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
16707 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
16708 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
16709 less than 4 characters wide.
16712 @node Mode Line Formatting
16713 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
16715 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
16716 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
16717 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
16718 with the following two differences:
16723 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
16726 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
16727 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
16728 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
16729 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
16730 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
16731 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
16732 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
16737 @node Advanced Formatting
16738 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16740 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16741 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16742 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16743 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16745 These are the valid modifiers:
16750 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16754 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16759 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16762 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
16767 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
16770 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
16773 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
16776 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
16780 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
16781 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
16782 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
16783 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
16784 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
16785 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
16786 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
16788 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
16789 last operation, padding.
16791 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
16792 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
16793 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
16794 @xref{Compilation}.
16797 @node User-Defined Specs
16798 @subsection User-Defined Specs
16800 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
16801 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
16802 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
16803 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
16804 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
16805 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
16806 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
16807 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
16808 should protect against that.
16810 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
16811 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
16812 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
16813 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
16817 @node Formatting Fonts
16818 @subsection Formatting Fonts
16820 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
16821 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
16822 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
16823 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
16826 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
16827 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
16828 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
16829 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
16830 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
16831 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
16833 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
16834 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
16835 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
16836 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
16837 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
16838 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
16839 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
16840 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
16842 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
16845 ;; Create three face types.
16846 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
16847 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
16849 ;; We want the article count to be in
16850 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
16851 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
16852 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
16854 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
16855 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
16857 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
16858 (setq gnus-group-line-format
16859 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
16862 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
16863 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
16865 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
16866 mode-line variables.
16869 @node Windows Configuration
16870 @section Windows Configuration
16871 @cindex windows configuration
16873 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
16875 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
16876 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
16877 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
16878 @code{t} by default.
16880 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
16881 glitches. Use at your own peril.
16883 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
16884 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
16885 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
16888 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
16889 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
16890 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16894 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
16895 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
16896 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
16897 possible names is listed below.
16899 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
16900 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
16903 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16907 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
16908 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
16909 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
16910 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
16911 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
16912 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
16913 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
16914 size spec per split.
16916 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
16917 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
16918 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
16919 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
16920 present) gets focus.
16922 Here's a more complicated example:
16925 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
16926 (summary 0.25 point)
16927 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
16931 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
16932 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
16933 occupy, not a percentage.
16935 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
16936 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
16937 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
16938 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
16939 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
16942 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
16945 (article (horizontal 1.0
16950 (summary 0.25 point)
16955 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
16956 @code{horizontal} thingie?
16958 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
16959 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
16960 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
16961 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
16962 the screen is to be given to this strip.
16964 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
16965 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
16966 lines from the splits.
16968 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
16972 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
16973 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
16974 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
16975 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
16976 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
16977 size = number | frame-params
16978 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
16981 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
16982 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
16983 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
16984 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
16986 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
16987 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
16988 @cindex window height
16989 @cindex window width
16990 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
16991 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
16992 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
16993 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
16994 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
16995 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
16997 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
16998 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
16999 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17000 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17002 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17003 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17004 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17005 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17006 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17007 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17008 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17009 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17010 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17011 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17012 configuration list.
17015 (gnus-configure-frame
17019 (article 0.3 point))
17027 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17028 @code{frame} split:
17031 (gnus-configure-frame
17034 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17036 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17037 (user-position . t)
17038 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17043 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17044 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17045 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17046 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17047 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17048 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17049 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17050 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17052 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17053 be found in its default value.
17055 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17056 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17057 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17061 (message (horizontal 1.0
17062 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17064 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17069 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17070 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17071 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17074 (message (frame 1.0
17075 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17076 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17077 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17078 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17079 (name . "Message"))
17080 (message 1.0 point))))
17083 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17084 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17085 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17086 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17087 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17090 (gnus-add-configuration
17091 '(article (vertical 1.0
17093 (summary .25 point)
17097 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17098 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17099 Gnus has been loaded.
17101 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17102 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17103 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17104 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17105 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17107 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17108 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17109 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17113 @node Faces and Fonts
17114 @section Faces and Fonts
17119 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17120 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17121 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17126 @section Compilation
17127 @cindex compilation
17128 @cindex byte-compilation
17130 @findex gnus-compile
17132 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17133 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17134 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17135 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17136 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17137 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17140 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17141 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17142 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17143 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17144 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17145 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17146 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17150 @section Mode Lines
17153 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17154 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17155 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17156 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17157 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17158 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17159 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17162 @cindex display-time
17164 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17165 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17166 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17167 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17168 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17169 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17170 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17171 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17174 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17176 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17177 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17179 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17180 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17181 (length display-time-string)))))
17184 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17185 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17186 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17187 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17188 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17191 @node Highlighting and Menus
17192 @section Highlighting and Menus
17194 @cindex highlighting
17197 @vindex gnus-visual
17198 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17199 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17200 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17203 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17204 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17207 @item group-highlight
17208 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17209 @item summary-highlight
17210 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17211 @item article-highlight
17212 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17214 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17216 Create menus in the group buffer.
17218 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17220 Create menus in the article buffer.
17222 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17224 Create menus in the server buffer.
17226 Create menus in the score buffers.
17228 Create menus in all buffers.
17231 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17232 buffers, you could say something like:
17235 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17238 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17241 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17244 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17245 in all Gnus buffers.
17247 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17250 @item gnus-mouse-face
17251 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17252 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17253 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17257 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17261 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17262 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17263 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17265 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17266 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17267 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17269 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17270 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17271 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17273 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17274 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17275 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17277 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17278 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17279 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17281 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17282 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17283 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17294 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17295 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17296 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17297 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17298 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17302 @vindex gnus-carpal
17303 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17304 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17305 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17310 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17311 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17312 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17314 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17315 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17316 Face used on buttons.
17318 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17319 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17320 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17322 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17323 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17324 Buttons in the group buffer.
17326 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17327 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17328 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17330 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17331 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17332 Buttons in the server buffer.
17334 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17335 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17336 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17339 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17340 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17341 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17349 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17350 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17351 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17352 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17353 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17355 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17356 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17357 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17359 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17360 been idle for thirty minutes:
17363 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17366 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17370 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17373 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17374 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17375 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17377 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17378 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17379 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17380 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17382 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17383 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17384 @var{idle} minutes.
17386 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17387 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17390 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17391 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17392 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17394 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17395 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17396 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17397 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17399 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17400 your @file{.gnus} file:
17402 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17404 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17407 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17408 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17409 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17410 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17411 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17412 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17413 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17414 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17415 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17416 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17417 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17419 @findex gnus-demon-init
17420 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17421 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17422 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17423 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17424 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17426 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17427 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17428 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17437 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17438 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17440 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17441 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17442 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17443 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17446 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17447 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17448 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17449 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17451 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17452 this will make spam disappear.
17454 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17457 @item gnus-use-nocem
17458 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17459 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17462 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17463 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17464 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17465 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17466 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17468 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17469 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17470 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17471 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17472 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
17473 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
17474 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17476 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
17479 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
17480 @cindex Chris Lewis
17481 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
17482 usenet abuse than anybody else.
17485 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
17486 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
17487 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
17489 @item jem@@xpat.com;
17491 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
17494 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
17495 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
17496 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
17499 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17500 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17501 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17502 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17503 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17504 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17505 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17506 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17507 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17508 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17510 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17511 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17514 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17517 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17518 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17521 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17524 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17527 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17528 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17530 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17531 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17532 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17533 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17535 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17536 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17539 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17541 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17549 This might be dangerous, though.
17551 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17552 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17553 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17554 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17556 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17557 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17558 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17559 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17560 might then see old spam.
17564 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17565 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17566 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17567 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17574 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17575 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17576 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17578 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17579 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17580 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17581 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17582 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17583 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17584 @code{undo} function.
17586 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17587 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17588 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17589 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17590 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17591 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17592 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17593 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17594 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17595 never be totally undoable.
17597 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17598 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17600 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17601 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17602 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17603 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17608 @section Moderation
17611 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17612 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17613 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17616 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
17620 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
17623 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17625 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
17630 You split your incoming mail by matching on
17631 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
17632 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
17635 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
17636 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
17639 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
17640 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
17644 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
17647 (setq gnus-moderated-list
17648 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
17652 @node XEmacs Enhancements
17653 @section XEmacs Enhancements
17656 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
17660 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
17661 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
17662 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
17663 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
17676 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
17677 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
17678 over your shoulder as you read news.
17681 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
17682 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
17683 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
17684 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
17685 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
17690 @subsubsection Picon Basics
17692 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
17701 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
17702 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
17703 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
17704 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
17705 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
17706 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
17707 @code{GIF} formats.
17710 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17711 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
17712 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
17713 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
17714 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
17716 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17717 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
17718 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
17719 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
17720 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
17721 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17724 @node Picon Requirements
17725 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
17727 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
17728 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
17731 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
17732 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
17733 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17735 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17736 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17737 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17738 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17739 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17743 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17745 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17746 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17749 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17750 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
17753 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
17754 containing the Picons databases.
17756 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
17759 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17760 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
17765 @subsubsection Hard Picons
17773 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
17774 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
17775 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
17776 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
17777 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
17782 @item gnus-picons-database
17783 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17784 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
17785 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
17786 subdirectories. This is only useful if
17787 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
17788 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
17790 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17791 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17792 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
17793 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
17794 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
17795 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
17796 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17798 @item gnus-picons-display-where
17799 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17800 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
17801 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
17802 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
17803 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
17804 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
17805 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
17807 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17808 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17809 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
17814 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
17815 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
17817 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
17818 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
17821 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17823 @item gnus-article-display-picons
17824 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17825 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
17826 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
17828 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
17829 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17830 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
17836 @node Picon Useless Configuration
17837 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
17845 The following variables offer further control over how things are
17846 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
17847 don't need to worry about.
17851 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
17852 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
17853 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17854 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
17856 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
17857 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
17858 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
17859 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
17861 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
17862 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
17863 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17864 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
17865 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
17867 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17868 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17869 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
17870 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
17871 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
17872 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
17873 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
17875 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17876 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17877 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
17878 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
17880 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17881 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17882 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
17883 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
17884 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
17885 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
17886 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
17888 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17889 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17890 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
17891 Defaults to @code{nil}.
17893 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
17894 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
17895 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
17896 Defaults to @code{t}.
17898 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17899 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17900 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
17901 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
17903 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
17904 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
17905 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
17907 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17908 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17909 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
17910 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
17912 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
17913 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
17915 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17916 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17917 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
17918 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
17919 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
17920 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
17921 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
17922 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
17933 @subsection Smileys
17938 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
17943 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
17944 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
17946 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
17947 @file{.gnus.el} file:
17950 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
17953 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
17954 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
17955 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
17956 text and maps that to file names.
17958 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
17959 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
17960 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
17961 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
17962 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
17963 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
17965 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
17966 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
17968 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
17969 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
17970 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
17972 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
17973 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
17977 @item smiley-data-directory
17978 @vindex smiley-data-directory
17979 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
17981 @item smiley-flesh-color
17982 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
17983 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
17985 @item smiley-features-color
17986 @vindex smiley-features-color
17987 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17989 @item smiley-tongue-color
17990 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
17991 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
17993 @item smiley-circle-color
17994 @vindex smiley-circle-color
17995 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
17997 @item smiley-mouse-face
17998 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
17999 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18005 @subsection Toolbar
18015 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18016 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18017 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18018 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18019 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18021 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18022 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18023 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18025 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18026 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18027 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18029 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18030 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18031 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18037 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18040 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18041 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18042 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18043 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18044 unusual directory structure.
18046 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18047 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18048 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18049 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18051 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18052 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18053 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18054 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18055 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18056 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18058 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18059 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18060 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18074 @node Fuzzy Matching
18075 @section Fuzzy Matching
18076 @cindex fuzzy matching
18078 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18079 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18081 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18082 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18083 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18085 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18086 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18087 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18088 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18089 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18092 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18093 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18097 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18099 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18100 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18101 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18102 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18103 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18104 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18105 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18106 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18109 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18110 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18111 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18112 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18113 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18114 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18118 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18119 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18121 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18122 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18123 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18124 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18125 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18126 part of the mail address.)
18129 (setq message-default-news-headers
18130 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18133 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18134 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18139 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18140 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18141 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18147 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18148 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18149 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18150 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18152 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18153 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18154 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18155 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18156 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18157 your fancy split rule in this way:
18162 (to "larsi" "misc")
18166 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18167 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18168 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18169 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18170 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18172 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18173 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18174 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18175 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18176 cosmic balance somewhat.
18178 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18179 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18180 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18181 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18184 @node Various Various
18185 @section Various Various
18191 @item gnus-home-directory
18192 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18193 defaults to @file{~/}.
18195 @item gnus-directory
18196 @vindex gnus-directory
18197 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18198 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18199 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18201 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18202 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18203 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18204 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18206 @item gnus-default-directory
18207 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18208 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18209 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18210 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18211 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18212 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18213 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18216 @vindex gnus-verbose
18217 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18218 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18219 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18220 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18221 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18223 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18224 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18225 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18226 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18228 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18229 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18230 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18231 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18232 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18233 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18234 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18235 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18236 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18237 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18239 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18240 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18241 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18242 read when doing the operation described above.
18244 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18245 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18247 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18248 @cindex characters in file names
18249 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18250 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18251 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18254 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18258 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18259 Windows (phooey) systems.
18261 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18262 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18263 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18264 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18265 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18267 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18268 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18269 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18270 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18271 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18273 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18274 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18275 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18284 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18285 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18287 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18289 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18295 Not because of victories @*
18298 but for the common sunshine,@*
18300 the largess of the spring.
18304 but for the day's work done@*
18305 as well as I was able;@*
18306 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18307 but at the common table.@*
18312 @chapter Appendices
18315 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18316 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18317 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18318 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18319 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18320 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18321 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18322 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18330 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18331 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18333 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18334 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18335 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18336 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18337 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18339 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18340 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18341 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18342 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18343 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18344 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18346 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18347 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18348 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18349 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18352 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18353 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18354 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18355 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18356 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18357 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18358 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18359 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18360 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18361 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18365 @node Gnus Versions
18366 @subsection Gnus Versions
18367 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18369 @cindex September Gnus
18370 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18372 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18373 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18374 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18376 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18377 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18379 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18380 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18382 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18383 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18385 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18386 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18389 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18390 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18391 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18392 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18393 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18397 @node Other Gnus Versions
18398 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18401 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18402 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18403 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18404 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18406 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18407 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18408 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18409 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18416 What's the point of Gnus?
18418 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18419 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18420 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18421 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18422 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18423 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18424 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18425 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18426 keep track of millions of people who post?
18428 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18429 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18430 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18431 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18432 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18433 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18434 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18435 every one of you to explore and invent.
18437 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18438 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18441 @node Compatibility
18442 @subsection Compatibility
18444 @cindex compatibility
18445 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18446 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18447 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18452 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18456 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18459 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18462 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18463 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18464 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18465 important variables have their values copied into their global
18466 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18467 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18469 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18470 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18471 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18472 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18473 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18477 @cindex highlighting
18478 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18479 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18480 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18481 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18482 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18483 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18486 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18487 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18488 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18489 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18491 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18492 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18493 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18494 to stop doing it the old way.
18496 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18498 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18500 @cindex reporting bugs
18502 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18503 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18504 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18506 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18507 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18508 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18509 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18514 @subsection Conformity
18516 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18517 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18524 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18528 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18530 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18531 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18532 We do have some breaches to this one.
18538 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18539 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18540 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18541 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18542 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18547 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18548 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18549 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18550 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18554 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18555 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18560 @subsection Emacsen
18566 Gnus should work on :
18574 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
18578 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18579 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18582 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18583 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18584 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18588 @node Gnus Development
18589 @subsection Gnus Development
18591 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18592 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18593 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18594 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18595 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18596 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18597 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18598 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18600 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18601 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18602 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18603 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18604 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
18607 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
18608 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
18609 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
18610 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
18611 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
18613 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
18614 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
18615 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
18616 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
18617 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
18618 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
18619 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
18620 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
18621 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
18622 can't be assumed to do so.
18627 @subsection Contributors
18628 @cindex contributors
18630 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
18631 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
18632 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
18633 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
18634 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
18635 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
18636 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
18637 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
18638 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
18639 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
18641 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
18647 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
18650 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
18651 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
18652 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
18653 functionality and stuff.
18656 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
18657 well as numerous other things).
18660 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
18663 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
18666 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
18669 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
18670 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
18673 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
18676 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
18677 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18680 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
18683 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
18686 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
18689 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
18692 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
18693 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
18696 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
18699 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
18702 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
18705 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
18709 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
18712 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
18715 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
18718 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
18719 well as autoconf support.
18723 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
18724 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
18726 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18735 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
18739 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
18749 Alexei V. Barantsev,
18764 Massimo Campostrini,
18769 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
18770 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
18774 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
18777 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
18783 Michael Welsh Duggan,
18788 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
18792 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
18800 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
18802 Michelangelo Grigni,
18806 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
18808 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
18810 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
18817 François Felix Ingrand,
18818 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
18819 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
18821 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
18832 Peter Skov Knudsen,
18833 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
18835 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
18836 Thor Kristoffersen,
18839 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
18857 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
18858 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
18865 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
18870 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
18874 John McClary Prevost,
18880 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
18885 Christian von Roques,
18888 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
18895 Philippe Schnoebelen,
18897 Randal L. Schwartz,
18911 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
18916 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
18932 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
18937 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
18938 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
18939 (550kB and counting).
18941 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
18944 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
18945 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
18949 @subsection New Features
18950 @cindex new features
18953 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
18954 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
18955 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
18956 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
18959 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
18960 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
18961 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
18965 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
18967 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
18972 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
18973 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
18976 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
18977 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
18980 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
18983 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
18984 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
18985 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
18988 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
18989 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
18990 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
18991 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
18994 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
18995 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
18998 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
18999 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19000 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19003 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19004 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19007 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19008 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19009 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19012 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19013 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19014 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19017 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19018 the @file{.emacs} file.
19021 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19022 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19025 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19026 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19029 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19030 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19033 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19034 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19037 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19038 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19041 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19044 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19045 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19048 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19049 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19052 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19053 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19056 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19059 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19060 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19063 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19067 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19071 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19072 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19075 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19081 @node September Gnus
19082 @subsubsection September Gnus
19086 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19090 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19095 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19096 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19100 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19101 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19105 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19109 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19110 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19113 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19117 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19120 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19123 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19126 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19130 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19131 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19134 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19138 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19142 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19146 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19150 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19153 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19154 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19157 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19161 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19162 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19165 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19168 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19169 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19170 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19173 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19177 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19180 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19184 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19185 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19188 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19189 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19192 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19193 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19196 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19197 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19198 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19201 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19202 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19205 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19208 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19211 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19214 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19217 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19218 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19221 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19225 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19228 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19233 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19236 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19240 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19243 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19247 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19250 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19253 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19254 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19257 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19258 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19262 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19263 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19266 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19270 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19271 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19274 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19277 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19281 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19285 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19286 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19289 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19293 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19294 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19297 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19298 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19301 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19305 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19308 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19311 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19317 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19319 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19323 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19330 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19333 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19334 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19337 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19338 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19342 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19343 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19346 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19349 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19350 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19353 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19357 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19358 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19362 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19363 Server Internals}).
19366 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19370 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19373 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19374 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19377 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19378 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19379 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19382 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19383 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19386 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19387 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19390 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19394 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19395 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19398 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19399 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19402 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19406 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19409 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19413 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19414 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19417 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19418 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19421 A new command for reading collections of documents
19422 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19423 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19426 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19430 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19431 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19434 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19435 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19436 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19439 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19440 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19444 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19448 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19452 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19457 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19461 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19465 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19466 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19469 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19475 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19477 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19482 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19483 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19484 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19487 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19488 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19489 group, which is created automatically.
19492 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19496 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19499 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19500 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19503 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19507 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19510 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19511 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19514 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19517 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19518 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19521 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19522 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19525 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19526 control over simplification.
19529 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19532 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19536 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19539 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19542 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19543 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19544 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19547 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19548 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19551 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19555 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19556 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19559 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19560 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19563 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19567 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19570 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19573 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19574 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19577 A new function for citing in Message has been
19578 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19581 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19584 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19588 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19589 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19592 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19593 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19596 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19599 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19604 @node Newest Features
19605 @subsection Newest Features
19608 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
19611 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
19613 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
19614 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
19617 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
19622 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
19623 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
19626 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
19629 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
19632 facep is not declared.
19635 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
19636 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
19639 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
19644 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
19645 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
19646 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
19647 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
19648 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
19649 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
19650 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
19655 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
19658 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
19661 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
19663 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
19664 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
19666 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
19668 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
19670 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
19671 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
19673 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
19675 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
19676 be marked as unread.
19678 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
19680 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
19682 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
19683 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
19685 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
19687 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
19689 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
19690 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
19692 topics that contain just groups with ticked
19693 articles aren't displayed.
19695 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
19697 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
19698 make the mail groups killed.
19700 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
19702 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
19703 and articles have to be removed.
19705 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
19708 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
19710 finding short score file names takes forever.
19712 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19714 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
19716 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
19718 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
19720 nnweb doesn't work properly.
19722 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
19724 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
19725 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
19729 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
19731 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
19732 bar and the Gnus bar.
19735 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19736 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19737 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19738 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
19739 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
19740 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
19745 nnml .overview directory with splits.
19749 postponed commands.
19751 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
19753 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
19756 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
19757 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
19759 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
19760 inherit copy prompts and save files.
19762 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
19764 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
19765 for backends that support that.
19767 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
19769 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
19770 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
19772 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
19773 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
19775 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
19777 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
19779 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
19781 server mode command: close/open all connections
19783 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
19784 has been changed before using it.
19786 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
19788 hide (sub)threads with low score.
19790 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
19792 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
19794 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
19795 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
19797 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
19798 contain groups that match a regexp.
19800 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
19803 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
19806 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
19807 from subject lines.
19809 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
19811 nntp-ping-before-connect
19813 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
19815 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
19816 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
19818 message annotations.
19820 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
19822 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
19823 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
19825 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
19830 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
19832 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
19834 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
19836 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
19837 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
19839 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
19841 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
19843 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
19844 finds and generate proper active ranges.
19846 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
19847 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
19849 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
19851 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
19853 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
19854 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
19856 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
19858 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
19860 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
19861 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
19864 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
19866 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
19868 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
19869 `C-c C-c' when posting.
19871 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
19874 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
19875 should be marker as expirable.
19877 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
19879 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
19880 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
19882 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
19883 Also consult Date headers.
19885 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
19887 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
19889 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
19890 Message-ID, delete the "original".
19892 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
19893 into a See-Also header.
19895 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
19897 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
19899 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
19900 should be listed as such and not as "K".
19902 generate font names dynamically.
19904 score file mode auto-alist.
19906 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
19907 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
19909 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
19910 absolutely all headers there is.
19912 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
19913 and pipe them to the process.
19915 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
19916 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
19917 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
19919 function for starting to edit a file to put into
19920 the current mail group.
19922 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
19924 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
19925 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
19927 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
19928 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
19930 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
19932 when replying to several process-marked articles,
19933 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
19935 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
19936 groups it has been mailed to.
19938 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
19940 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
19942 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
19944 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
19945 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
19947 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
19948 newlines) should be ignored.
19950 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
19951 groups in subtopics as well.
19953 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
19955 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
19958 add edit and forward secondary marks.
19960 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
19962 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
19964 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
19966 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
19968 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
19970 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
19971 or the formatted article.
19973 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
19975 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
19976 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
19978 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
19980 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
19982 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
19984 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
19985 even unread articles.
19987 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
19989 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
19991 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
19993 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
19995 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19997 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20000 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20001 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20003 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20004 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20006 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20008 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20010 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20011 from a particular server? Hm.
20013 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20014 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20016 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20018 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20019 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20021 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20022 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20024 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20025 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20026 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20029 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20030 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20032 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20034 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20036 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20038 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20041 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20044 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20045 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20047 command to show and edit group scores
20049 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20052 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20054 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20056 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20057 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20060 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20061 that are of that length.
20063 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20065 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20067 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20069 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20071 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20073 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20075 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20076 a score lower than this number.
20078 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20080 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20082 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20083 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20085 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20087 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20088 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20090 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20093 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20094 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20095 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20096 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20098 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20101 command to remove all topic stuff.
20103 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20104 and splitting the resulting digests.
20106 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20108 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20110 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20111 matches an alist -- before saving.
20113 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20115 variable to activate each group before entering them
20116 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20118 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20119 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20121 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20122 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20124 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20126 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20127 of several groups at once.
20129 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20130 matches some regexp(s).
20132 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20134 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20136 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20138 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20140 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20142 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20144 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20146 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20147 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20148 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20149 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20151 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20152 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20154 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20156 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20157 recently cited text.
20159 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20161 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20164 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20165 server and just read the articles in the server
20167 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20168 value of nnoo variables.
20170 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20172 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20173 listed in each group info.
20175 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20178 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20179 should only be applied to some groups.
20181 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20182 mail-copies-to: never.
20184 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20185 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20187 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20189 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20192 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20195 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20197 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20200 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20204 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20206 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20207 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20208 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20209 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20210 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20212 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20213 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20220 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20221 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20223 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20224 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20226 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20227 "Return the date the group was last read."
20228 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20233 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20234 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20235 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20236 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20240 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20241 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20243 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20246 They could be used like this:
20250 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20251 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20252 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20254 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20256 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20259 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20262 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20263 affect the summary line format.
20267 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20269 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20270 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20272 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20275 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20277 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20279 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20281 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20283 - For other files, just find them normally.
20285 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20286 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20289 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20290 tell him what you are doing.
20293 Currently, I get prompted:
20297 decend into sci.something ?
20301 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20302 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20303 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20304 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20307 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20308 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20309 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20310 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20313 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20314 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20320 more than n blank lines
20322 more than m identical lines
20323 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20325 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20329 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20330 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20331 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20332 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20335 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20336 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20337 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20338 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20341 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20344 soup - bowl of soup
20345 score below - dim light bulb
20346 score over - bright light bulb
20349 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20354 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20355 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20356 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20357 if (articles-selected)
20358 start-reading-selected-articles;
20359 junk-unread-articles;
20364 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20365 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20366 select-thread-under-cursor;
20368 select-article-under-cursor;
20372 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20373 if (more-pages-in-article)
20375 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20382 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20383 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20384 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20387 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20388 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20389 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20390 the wildcard expression).
20393 It would be nice if it also handled
20395 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20397 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20402 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20403 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20404 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20405 article versions) variable.
20407 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20409 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20410 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20414 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20417 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20418 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20419 (message-sent-hook).
20421 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20424 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20428 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20429 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20432 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20433 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20434 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20437 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20438 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20442 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20445 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20449 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20450 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20453 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20454 value of the signature file.
20457 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20458 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20461 (setq message-tab-alist
20462 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20463 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20465 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20469 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20472 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20475 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20478 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20479 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20482 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20485 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20486 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20487 do more gathering by subject.
20490 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20491 article numerical order.
20494 (gnus-thread-total-score
20495 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20499 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20502 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20503 in the summary buffer.
20506 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20507 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20510 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20511 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20512 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20513 and/or newsgroup name.
20516 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20519 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20522 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20525 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20526 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20527 will automatically get the process mark.
20530 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20531 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20532 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20535 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20539 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20540 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20543 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20544 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20548 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20549 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20552 be able to post via DejaNews.
20555 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20558 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20559 allow them to be displayed separately.
20562 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20563 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20566 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20567 articles that match a certain From header.
20570 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20571 saving living summary buffers.
20574 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20575 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20578 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20579 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20582 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20583 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20586 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20587 (goto-char (point-min))
20588 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20589 (replace-match "`" t t))
20590 (goto-char (point-min))
20591 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20592 (replace-match "'" t t))
20593 (goto-char (point-min))
20594 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20595 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20596 (goto-char (point-min))
20597 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20598 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20603 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20605 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20606 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
20607 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
20608 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
20612 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
20615 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
20616 numbers and match on the age of the article.
20620 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
20621 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
20622 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
20624 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
20625 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
20627 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
20628 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
20633 all commands that react to the process mark should push
20634 the current process mark set onto the stack.
20637 gnus-article-hide-pgp
20638 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
20640 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
20642 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
20643 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
20646 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
20647 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
20650 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
20654 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
20655 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
20658 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
20661 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
20664 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
20667 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
20671 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
20677 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
20680 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
20684 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
20685 X characters in the body.
20688 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
20691 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
20694 format spec to "tab" to a position.
20697 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
20700 command to display all dormant articles.
20703 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
20706 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
20707 to something someone else has said.
20710 Read Netscape discussion groups:
20711 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
20714 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
20715 the displayed version.
20718 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
20722 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
20725 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
20726 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
20727 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
20731 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
20732 in the head or body.
20735 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20738 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
20741 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
20742 in a special, unique buffer.
20745 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
20748 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
20749 is less than a certain number of days old.
20752 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
20755 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
20758 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
20759 file, for instance.
20762 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
20763 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
20764 dummy root instead of the first article.
20767 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
20768 topics for displaying.
20771 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
20772 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
20775 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
20778 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
20779 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
20780 summary buffer for each article.
20783 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
20786 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
20790 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
20793 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
20797 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
20800 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
20803 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
20804 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
20807 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
20808 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
20811 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
20812 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
20815 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
20816 timeout for all commands.
20819 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
20820 It should go somewhere else.
20823 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
20824 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
20825 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
20827 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
20828 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
20830 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
20831 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
20838 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
20839 --text follows this line--
20840 Sorry I killfiled you...
20842 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20844 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20849 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
20853 - Edit article's summary line.
20855 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
20857 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
20863 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
20867 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
20868 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
20872 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
20875 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
20878 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
20879 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
20880 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
20881 turn into a [-] button.)
20884 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
20885 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
20886 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
20887 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
20890 Handle external-body parts.
20893 Solve the halting problem.
20902 @section The Manual
20906 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20907 either @code{texi2dvi}
20909 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20910 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20912 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20914 The following conventions have been used:
20919 This is a @samp{string}
20922 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20925 This is a @file{file}
20928 This is a @code{symbol}
20932 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20936 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20939 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20942 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20945 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20946 ever get them confused.
20950 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
20951 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
20952 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
20953 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
20954 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
20955 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
20956 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
20962 @node On Writing Manuals
20963 @section On Writing Manuals
20965 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
20966 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
20967 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
20968 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
20969 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
20970 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
20973 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
20974 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
20975 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
20978 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
20979 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
20984 @section Terminology
20986 @cindex terminology
20991 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
20992 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
20993 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
20994 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
20995 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
20999 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21000 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21001 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21002 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21006 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21010 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21015 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21016 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21017 is all done by the backends.
21021 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21022 default, way of getting news.
21026 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21027 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21032 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21033 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21037 A message that has been posted as news.
21040 @cindex mail message
21041 A message that has been mailed.
21045 A mail message or news article
21049 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21054 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21059 A line from the head of an article.
21063 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21064 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21068 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21069 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21070 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21071 normal @sc{head} format.
21075 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21076 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21077 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21078 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21079 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21080 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21082 @item killed groups
21083 @cindex killed groups
21084 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21085 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21087 @item zombie groups
21088 @cindex zombie groups
21089 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21092 @cindex active file
21093 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21094 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21095 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21098 @cindex bogus groups
21099 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21100 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21101 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21104 @cindex activating groups
21105 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21106 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21107 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21111 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21113 @item select method
21114 @cindex select method
21115 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21118 @item virtual server
21119 @cindex virtual server
21120 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21121 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21122 whole is a virtual server.
21126 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21127 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21130 @item ephemeral groups
21131 @cindex ephemeral groups
21132 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21133 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21134 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21137 @cindex solid groups
21138 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21139 group buffer are solid groups.
21141 @item sparse articles
21142 @cindex sparse articles
21143 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21144 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21148 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21149 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21153 @cindex thread root
21154 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21155 articles in the thread.
21159 An article that has responses.
21163 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21167 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21168 specified by RFC 1153.
21174 @node Customization
21175 @section Customization
21176 @cindex general customization
21178 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21179 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21180 for some quite common situations.
21183 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21184 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21185 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21186 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21190 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21191 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21193 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21194 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21195 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21199 @item gnus-read-active-file
21200 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21201 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21202 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21203 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21204 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21206 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21207 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21208 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21209 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21213 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21214 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21216 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21217 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21218 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21222 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21223 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21224 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21225 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21226 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21228 @item gnus-visible-headers
21229 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21230 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21231 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21232 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21234 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21236 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21237 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21238 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21241 @item gnus-use-full-window
21242 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21243 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21244 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21245 want to read them anyway.
21247 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21248 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21251 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21252 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21253 lines, which might save some time.
21257 @node Little Disk Space
21258 @subsection Little Disk Space
21261 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21262 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21266 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21267 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21268 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21269 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21272 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21273 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21274 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21275 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21278 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21279 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21280 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21281 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21282 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21288 @subsection Slow Machine
21289 @cindex slow machine
21291 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21292 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21294 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21295 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21297 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21298 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21299 summary buffer faster.
21303 @node Troubleshooting
21304 @section Troubleshooting
21305 @cindex troubleshooting
21307 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21315 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21318 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21319 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21323 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21324 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21325 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21326 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21329 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21333 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21334 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21335 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21336 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21337 something like that.
21340 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21343 @cindex reporting bugs
21345 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21347 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21348 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21349 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21350 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21352 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21353 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21354 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21355 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21358 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21359 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21360 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21361 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21362 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21363 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21365 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21366 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21367 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21370 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21371 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21373 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21374 @cindex ding mailing list
21375 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21376 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21380 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21381 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21383 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21384 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21385 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21386 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21389 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21390 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21391 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21392 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21393 and general methods of operation.
21396 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21397 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21398 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21399 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21400 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21401 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21402 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21403 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21404 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21408 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21409 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21410 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21411 @cindex utility functions
21413 @cindex internal variables
21415 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21416 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21417 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21421 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21422 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21423 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21425 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21426 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21427 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21429 @item gnus-group-real-name
21430 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21431 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21434 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21435 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21436 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21437 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21439 @item gnus-get-info
21440 @findex gnus-get-info
21441 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21443 @item gnus-group-unread
21444 @findex gnus-group-unread
21445 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21449 @findex gnus-active
21450 The active entry for @var{group}.
21452 @item gnus-set-active
21453 @findex gnus-set-active
21454 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21456 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21457 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21458 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21461 @item gnus-continuum-version
21462 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21463 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21464 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21467 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21468 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21469 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21471 @item gnus-news-group-p
21472 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21473 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21475 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21476 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21477 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21479 @item gnus-server-to-method
21480 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21481 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21483 @item gnus-server-equal
21484 @findex gnus-server-equal
21485 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21487 @item gnus-group-native-p
21488 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21489 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21491 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21492 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21493 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21495 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21496 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21497 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21499 @item group-group-find-parameter
21500 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21501 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21502 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21504 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21505 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21506 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21508 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21509 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21510 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21512 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21513 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21514 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21515 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21518 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21522 @item gnus-read-method
21523 @findex gnus-read-method
21524 Prompts the user for a select method.
21529 @node Backend Interface
21530 @subsection Backend Interface
21532 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21533 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21534 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21535 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21536 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21537 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21539 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21540 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21541 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21542 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21543 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21544 been opened, the function should fail.
21546 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21547 name. Take this example:
21551 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21552 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21555 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21556 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21558 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21559 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21560 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21562 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21563 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21564 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21566 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21567 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21568 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21569 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21570 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21571 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21574 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21575 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21576 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21577 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21580 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21583 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21586 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21587 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21588 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21589 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21590 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21591 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21595 @node Required Backend Functions
21596 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21600 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21602 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21603 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21604 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21605 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21607 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21608 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21609 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21610 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21612 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21613 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21614 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21615 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21616 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21617 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21618 number, do maximum fetches.
21620 Here's an example HEAD:
21623 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21624 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21625 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21626 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21627 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21628 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21629 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21631 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21632 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21633 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21637 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21638 these in the data buffer.
21640 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21644 head = error / valid-head
21645 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21646 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21647 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21648 header = <text> eol
21651 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21652 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21656 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21657 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21658 field = <text except TAB>
21661 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21665 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21667 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21668 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21670 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21671 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21672 server. In fact, it should do so.
21674 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21675 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21678 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21680 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21681 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21684 There should be no data returned.
21687 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21689 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21690 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21691 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21692 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21694 There should be no data returned.
21697 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21699 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21700 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21701 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21702 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21704 There should be no data returned.
21707 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21709 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21711 There should be no data returned.
21714 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21716 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21717 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21718 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21719 it would be nice if that were possible.
21721 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21722 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21723 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21724 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21725 into its article buffer.
21727 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21728 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21729 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21730 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21731 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21732 on successful article retrieval.
21735 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21737 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21738 making @var{group} the current group.
21740 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21743 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21746 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21749 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21750 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21751 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21752 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21753 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21754 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21755 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21756 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21759 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21760 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21761 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21765 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21767 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21768 a no-op on most backends.
21770 There should be no data returned.
21773 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21775 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21778 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21781 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21782 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21785 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21786 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21789 active-file = *active-line
21790 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21792 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21795 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21796 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21797 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21800 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21802 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21803 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21804 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21805 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21806 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21807 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21809 There should be no result data from this function.
21814 @node Optional Backend Functions
21815 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21819 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21821 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21822 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21823 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21825 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21826 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21827 former is in the same format as the data from
21828 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21829 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21832 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21836 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21838 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21839 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21840 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21841 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21842 should return the (altered) group info.
21844 There should be no result data from this function.
21847 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21849 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21850 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21851 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21852 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21853 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21854 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21855 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21856 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21858 There should be no result data from this function.
21861 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21863 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21864 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21865 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21866 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21867 propagate the mark information to the server.
21869 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21872 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21875 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
21876 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21877 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21878 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21879 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21880 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21881 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21882 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21883 not limit itself to these.
21885 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21886 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21887 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21888 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21890 An example action list:
21893 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21894 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21895 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21898 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21899 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21901 There should be no result data from this function.
21903 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21905 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21906 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21907 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21908 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21909 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21911 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21912 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21913 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21916 There should be no result data from this function.
21919 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21921 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21922 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21923 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21924 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21925 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21926 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21927 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21929 There should be no result data from this function.
21932 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21934 The result data from this function should be a description of
21938 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21940 description = <text>
21943 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21945 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21946 groups available on the server.
21949 description-buffer = *description-line
21953 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
21955 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
21956 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
21957 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
21960 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21962 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
21964 There should be no return data.
21967 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
21969 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
21970 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
21971 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
21972 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
21973 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
21976 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
21979 There should be no result data returned.
21982 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
21985 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
21986 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
21988 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
21989 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
21990 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
21991 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
21992 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
21993 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
21995 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
21996 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
21999 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22000 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22002 There should be no data returned.
22005 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22007 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22008 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22009 this function in short order.
22011 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22012 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22014 There should be no data returned.
22017 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22019 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22020 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22022 There should be no data returned.
22025 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22027 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22028 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22029 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22031 There should be no data returned.
22034 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22036 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22037 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22039 There should be no data returned.
22044 @node Error Messaging
22045 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22047 @findex nnheader-report
22048 @findex nnheader-get-report
22049 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22050 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22051 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22052 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22053 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22054 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22057 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22059 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22062 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22063 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22064 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22065 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22067 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22068 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22069 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22072 @node Writing New Backends
22073 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22075 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22076 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22077 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22078 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22079 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22082 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22083 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22084 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22086 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22087 package called @code{nnoo}.
22089 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22090 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22096 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22097 parameters. For instance:
22100 (nnoo-declare nndir
22104 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22105 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22108 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22109 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22110 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22112 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22113 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22114 a function in those backends.
22117 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22118 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22119 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22122 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22123 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22124 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22126 @item nnoo-define-basics
22127 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22131 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22135 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22136 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22137 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22139 @item nnoo-map-functions
22140 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22141 functions from the parent backends.
22144 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22145 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22146 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22149 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22150 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22151 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22152 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22155 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22156 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22157 haven't already been defined.
22163 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22167 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22168 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22169 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22174 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22177 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22178 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22182 (require 'nnheader)
22186 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22188 (nnoo-declare nndir
22191 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22192 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22193 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22195 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22196 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22199 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22200 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22201 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22203 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22204 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22206 ;;; Interface functions.
22208 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22210 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22211 (setq nndir-directory
22212 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22214 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22215 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22216 (push `(nndir-current-group
22217 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22219 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22220 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22222 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22224 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22225 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22226 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22227 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22228 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22232 nnmh-status-message
22234 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22240 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22241 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22243 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22244 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22245 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22246 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22248 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22249 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22254 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22257 The abilities can be:
22261 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22263 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22265 This backend supports both mail and news.
22267 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22270 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22271 articles and groups.
22273 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22274 true for almost all backends.
22275 @item prompt-address
22276 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22277 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22278 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22282 @node Mail-like Backends
22283 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22285 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22286 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22287 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22288 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22291 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22292 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22293 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22296 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22297 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22300 This function takes four parameters.
22304 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22307 @item exit-function
22308 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22310 @item temp-directory
22311 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22314 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22315 performed for one group only.
22318 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22319 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22320 find the article number assigned to this article.
22322 The function also uses the following variables:
22323 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22324 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22325 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22326 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22330 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22331 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22335 @node Score File Syntax
22336 @subsection Score File Syntax
22338 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22339 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22340 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22342 Here's a typical score file:
22346 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22353 BNF definition of a score file:
22356 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22357 element = rule / atom
22358 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22359 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22360 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22361 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22363 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22364 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22365 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22366 date-header = "date"
22367 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22368 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22369 score = "nil" / <integer>
22370 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22371 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22372 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22373 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22374 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22375 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22376 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22377 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22378 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22379 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22380 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22381 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22382 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22383 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22384 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22385 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22386 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22387 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22388 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22389 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22390 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22391 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22392 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22393 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22394 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22395 eval = "eval" space <form>
22396 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22399 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22402 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22403 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22404 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22405 one looong line, then that's ok.
22407 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22408 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22412 @subsection Headers
22414 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22415 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22416 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22417 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22419 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22420 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22421 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22422 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22423 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22424 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22425 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22427 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22428 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22429 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22430 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22431 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22433 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22434 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22440 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22441 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22443 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22444 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22445 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22446 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22448 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22452 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22455 is transformed into
22458 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22461 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22462 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22465 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22468 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22469 is slightly tricky:
22472 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22478 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22481 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22487 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22494 and is equal to the previous range.
22496 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22497 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22498 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22502 range = simple-range / normal-range
22503 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22504 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22505 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22506 number *[ " " contents ]
22509 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22510 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22511 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22512 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22513 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22518 @subsection Group Info
22520 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22521 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22522 describes the group.
22524 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22525 second is a more complex one:
22528 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22530 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22531 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22533 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22536 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22537 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22538 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22539 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22540 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22541 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22542 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22543 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22544 this section is about.
22546 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22547 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22548 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22550 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22553 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22554 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22555 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22556 group = quote <string> quote
22557 ralevel = rank / level
22558 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22559 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22560 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22562 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22563 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22564 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22565 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22568 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22569 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22572 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22573 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22576 @item gnus-info-group
22577 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22578 @findex gnus-info-group
22579 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22580 Get/set the group name.
22582 @item gnus-info-rank
22583 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22584 @findex gnus-info-rank
22585 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22586 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22588 @item gnus-info-level
22589 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22590 @findex gnus-info-level
22591 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22592 Get/set the group level.
22594 @item gnus-info-score
22595 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22596 @findex gnus-info-score
22597 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22598 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22600 @item gnus-info-read
22601 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22602 @findex gnus-info-read
22603 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22604 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22606 @item gnus-info-marks
22607 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22608 @findex gnus-info-marks
22609 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22610 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22612 @item gnus-info-method
22613 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22614 @findex gnus-info-method
22615 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22616 Get/set the group select method.
22618 @item gnus-info-params
22619 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22620 @findex gnus-info-params
22621 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22622 Get/set the group parameters.
22625 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22626 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22628 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22629 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22630 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22631 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22634 @node Extended Interactive
22635 @subsection Extended Interactive
22636 @cindex interactive
22637 @findex gnus-interactive
22639 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22640 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22641 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22644 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22645 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22650 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22651 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22652 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22653 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22654 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22655 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22656 @code{interactive}.
22658 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22663 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22664 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22668 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22669 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22670 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22673 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22677 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22681 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22687 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22688 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22692 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22693 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22694 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22696 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22697 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22698 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22699 Gnus, that's very useful.
22701 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22702 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22703 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22704 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22705 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22706 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22707 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22708 following function:
22711 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22715 (,function ,@@args))
22719 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22720 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22721 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22724 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22725 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22726 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22728 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22729 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22730 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22733 @node Various File Formats
22734 @subsection Various File Formats
22737 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22738 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22742 @node Active File Format
22743 @subsubsection Active File Format
22745 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22746 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22749 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22752 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22753 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22754 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22755 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22756 no.general 1000 900 y
22759 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22762 active = *group-line
22763 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22764 group = <non-white-space string>
22766 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22767 low-number = <positive integer>
22768 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22771 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22772 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22775 @node Newsgroups File Format
22776 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22778 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22779 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22780 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22783 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22784 Here's the definition:
22788 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22789 group = <non-white-space string>
22791 description = <string>
22796 @node Emacs for Heathens
22797 @section Emacs for Heathens
22799 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22800 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22801 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22802 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22803 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22804 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22805 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22809 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22810 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22815 @subsection Keystrokes
22819 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22822 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22825 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22826 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22827 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22828 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22829 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22830 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22832 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22833 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22834 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22835 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22836 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22837 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22838 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22840 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22841 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22842 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22843 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22844 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22845 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22846 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22848 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22849 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22850 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22851 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22852 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22858 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22860 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22861 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22862 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22863 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22865 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22866 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22867 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22868 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22869 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22870 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22871 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22874 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22875 write the following:
22878 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22881 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22882 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22883 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22886 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22887 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22888 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22889 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22890 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22892 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22893 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22894 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22898 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22902 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22905 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22906 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22909 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22912 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22913 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22916 @include gnus-faq.texi