\input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
-@setfilename gnus.info
-@settitle Gnus 5.2 Manual
+@setfilename gnus
+@settitle Gnus 5.4 Manual
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@tex
@titlepage
-@title Gnus Manual
+@title Gnus 5.4 Manual
@author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
@page
spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
luck.
+This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.4.
+
@end ifinfo
@iftex
@iflatex
-\thispagestyle{empty}
+\tableofcontents
+\gnuscleardoublepage
@end iflatex
Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
* Key Index:: Key Index.
@end menu
-
@node Starting Up
@chapter Starting Gnus
@cindex starting up
* Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
* The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
* The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
-* Slave Gnusii:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
+* Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
* Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
* New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
* Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
* Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
* The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
+* Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
* Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
@end menu
@node Finding the News
@section Finding the News
+@cindex finding news
@vindex gnus-select-method
@c @head
Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
(@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
-running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long-shot, though.
+running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
@vindex gnus-nntp-server
If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
@findex gnus-no-server
+@kindex M-x gnus-no-server
@c @head
If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
@code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
-if you're in a hurry as well.
+if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
+your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
+1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
+levels.)
-@node Slave Gnusii
-@section Slave Gnusiï
+@node Slave Gnusae
+@section Slave Gnusae
@cindex slave
You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
-same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (eg., if you
-are using the two different Gnusiï to read from two different servers),
+same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
+are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
-The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusiï that use the same
+The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
@code{.newsrc} file.
To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
-@dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
+@dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
-however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusiï should be started with
+however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
@kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
-files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contains information only
+files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
-information in the normal (i. e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
+information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
@node Fetching a Group
@section Fetching a Group
+@cindex fetching a group
@findex gnus-fetch-group
-It it sometime convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
+It it sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
@node New Groups
@section New Groups
@cindex new groups
+@cindex subscription
+
+@vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
+If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
+you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
+also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
+@code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
+@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
+is @code{t} by default. If you set this variable to @code{always}, then
+Gnus will query the backends for new groups even when you do the @kbd{g}
+command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
+
+@menu
+* Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
+* Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
+* Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Checking New Groups
+@subsection Checking New Groups
+
+Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
+list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
+dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
+@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
+server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
+cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
+groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
+@code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
+Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
+Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
+
+I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
+server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
+fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
+@code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
+few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
+work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
+supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
+You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
+whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
+it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
+@samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
+
+This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
+issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
+subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
+if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
+that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
+Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
+
+
+@node Subscription Methods
+@subsection Subscription Methods
@vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
@item gnus-subscribe-zombies
@vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
-Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
-@kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
-This is the default.
+Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
+zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
+(with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
@item gnus-subscribe-randomly
@vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
@item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
@vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
-Subscribe all new groups hierarchically.
+Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
+function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
+@code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
+alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
+hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
+@samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
+up. Or something like that.
@item gnus-subscribe-interactively
@vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
@code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
+
+@node Filtering New Groups
+@subsection Filtering New Groups
+
A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
@code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
-@vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
-If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
-you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
-also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
-@code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
-@kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
-is @code{t} by default.
+New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
+@code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
-Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
-list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
-dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
-@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
-server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster &
-cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
-groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
-@code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
-Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
-Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
-I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
-server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
-fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
-@code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
-few days. If any do, then it works. If any don't, then it doesn't
-work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
-supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
-You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
-whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
-it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
-@samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
+@node Changing Servers
+@section Changing Servers
+@cindex changing servers
-This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
-issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
-subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
-if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
-that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
-Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
+Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
+This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
+very flaky and you want to use another.
+
+Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
+@code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
+
+@emph{Wrong!}
+
+Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
+@sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
+you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
+change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
+worthless.
+
+Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
+file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
+common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
+functions more than absolutely necessary.
+
+@kindex M-x gnus-change-server
+@findex gnus-change-server
+If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
+the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
+article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
+gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
+will prompt for the method you want to move to.
+
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
+@findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
+You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
+gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
+move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
+
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
+and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
+gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
+that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
@node Startup Files
@section Startup Files
@cindex startup files
@cindex .newsrc
+@cindex .newsrc.el
+@cindex .newsrc.eld
Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
information is traditionally stored in this file.
If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
-will also means that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
+will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
@code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
-Groups}).
+Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
+the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
+saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
+several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
@vindex gnus-startup-file
The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
@code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
@file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
-control on or off. Version control is off by default when saving the
-startup files.
+control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
+startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(defun turn-off-backup ()
+ (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
+
+(add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
+(add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex gnus-init-file
+When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
+(@file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
+(@file{~/.gnus.el} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
+and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and
+@file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff.
@node Auto Save
In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
+Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
+secondary select methods.
+
@node Startup Variables
@section Startup Variables
@item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
@vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
-your boss might not notice that you are reading news instead of doing
-your job as easily.
+your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
+of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
+@file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
@item gnus-no-groups-message
@vindex gnus-no-groups-message
Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
+
+@item gnus-play-startup-jingle
+@vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
+If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
+
+@item gnus-startup-jingle
+@vindex gnus-startup-jingle
+Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
+default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
+
@end table
* Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
* Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
* Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
+* Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
* Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
* Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
* Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
@node Group Buffer Format
@section Group Buffer Format
-@cindex group buffer format
@menu
* Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
@node Group Line Specification
@subsection Group Line Specification
+@cindex group buffer format
The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
@xref{Formatting Variables}.
-The default value that produced those lines above is
-@samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n}.
+@samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
@table @samp
@item M
-Only marked articles.
+An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
@item S
Whether the group is subscribed.
Number of read articles.
@item t
-Total number of articles.
+Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
+minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
@item y
Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
@vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
-The default is @code{1}.
+The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
+@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
+
+@item m
+@vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
+@cindex %
+@samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
+the group lately.
+
+@item d
+A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
+Timestamp}).
@item u
User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
@code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
-following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current headers as
-argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
-into the buffer just like information from any other specifier.
+following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
+paratere as argument. The function should return a string, which will
+be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
+specifier.
@end table
@cindex *
All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
-group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
+group, or a bogus native group.
@node Group Modeline Specification
@subsection Group Modeline Specification
+@cindex group modeline
@vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
The mode line can be changed by setting
-(@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format}). It doesn't understand that many
-format specifiers:
+@code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
+doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
@table @samp
@item S
@node Group Highlighting
@subsection Group Highlighting
+@cindex highlighting
+@cindex group highlighting
@vindex gnus-group-highlight
Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
@lisp
(setq gnus-group-highlight
- `(((> unread 200) .
- ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
- ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
- ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
- ((< level 3) .
- ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
- ((zerop unread) .
- ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
- (t .
- ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
- ))
+ `(((> unread 200) .
+ ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
+ ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
+ ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
+ ((< level 3) .
+ ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
+ ((zerop unread) .
+ ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
+ (t .
+ ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))))
@end lisp
Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
The score of the group.
@item ticked
The number of ticked articles in the group.
+@item total
+The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
+MIN-NUMBER.
@item topic
When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
topic being inserted.
(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
@item p
-
@itemx DEL
@kindex DEL (Group)
@kindex p (Group)
@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
-Go to the previous group group that has unread articles
+Go to the previous group that has unread articles
(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
@item N
@item M-p
@kindex M-p (Group)
@findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
-Go to the next unread group on the same level (or lower)
+Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
(@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
@item M-n
@kindex M-n (Group)
@findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
-Go to the previous unread group on the same level (or lower)
+Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
(@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
@end table
first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
-group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, Gnus
-will fetch @var{N} number of articles. If @var{N} is positive, fetch
-the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is negative, fetch the
-@var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
+group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
+determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
+positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
+negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
@item RET
@kindex RET (Group)
@kindex M-RET (Group)
@findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
-minimum amount off fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
+minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
-enter some humongous group.
+enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
+(i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer.
+This might be useful if you want to toggle threading before entering the
+group.
@item M-SPACE
-@kindex M-RET (Group)
+@kindex M-SPACE (Group)
@findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
-This is yet one more command that does the same as the one above, but
-this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
-(@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
+This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
+command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
+(@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
-@item c
-@kindex c (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-catchup-current
-@vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
-Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
-(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
-@code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is when catching up a group from
-the group buffer.
+@item M-C-RET
+@kindex M-C-RET (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
+Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
+doing any processing of its contents
+(@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
+turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
+manner will have no permanent effects.
-@item C
-@kindex C (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
-Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
-(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
@end table
@vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
-unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
-group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
-from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@code{-n}),
-the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
-@code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
+(unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
+before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
+should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
+number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
+is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
+be fetched.
@vindex gnus-select-group-hook
@vindex gnus-auto-select-first
@code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
-automatically when entering a group.
+automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
@table @code
@node Subscription Commands
@section Subscription Commands
-@cindex subscribing
+@cindex subscription
@table @kbd
@findex gnus-group-kill-level
Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
-be used with some caution. The only thing where this command comes in
+be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
-groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level @code{7} will
+groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
@file{.newsrc} file.
Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
+@node Group Data
+@section Group Data
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item c
+@kindex c (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-catchup-current
+@vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
+Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
+(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
+@code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
+the group buffer.
+
+@item C
+@kindex C (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
+Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
+(@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
+
+@item M-c
+@kindex M-c (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data
+Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
+read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
+
+@item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+@findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
+If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
+and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
+clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
+caution.
+
+@end table
+
+
@node Group Levels
@section Group Levels
@cindex group level
+@cindex level
All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
(@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
+Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
+
@table @kbd
@item S l
for reasons of efficiency.
It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
-low levels (eg. 1 or 2).
+low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
@code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
-@code{5}.
+5. The default is 6.
@node Group Score
the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
-part and the score is the least significant part.)
+part and the score is the least significant part.))
@findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
@node Foreign Groups
@section Foreign Groups
+@cindex foreign groups
-Here are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
+Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
-special-purpose groups:
+special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
+groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
+consulted.
@table @kbd
@item G m
@kindex G m (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-group
+@cindex making groups
Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
@item G r
@kindex G r (Group)
@findex gnus-group-rename-group
+@cindex renaming groups
Rename the current group to something else
-(@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some groups --
-mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow on some
-backends.
+(@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
+groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
+on some backends.
+
+@item G c
+@kindex G c (Group)
+@cindex customizing
+@findex gnus-group-customize
+Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
@item G e
@kindex G e (Group)
@findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
+@cindex renaming groups
Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
@item G d
@kindex G d (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
-Make a directory group. You will be prompted for a directory name
-(@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
+@cindex nndir
+Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
+for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
@item G h
@kindex G h (Group)
+@cindex help group
@findex gnus-group-make-help-group
Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
@item G a
@kindex G a (Group)
+@cindex (ding) archive
+@cindex archive group
@findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
@vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
@vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
(@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
-group will be created from from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
+group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
@item G k
@kindex G k (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
+@cindex nnkiboze
Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
+@xref{Kibozed Groups}.
@item G D
@kindex G D (Group)
@findex gnus-group-enter-directory
+@cindex nneething
Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
@code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
+@xref{Anything Groups}.
@item G f
@kindex G f (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
@cindex ClariNet Briefs
+@cindex nndoc
Make a group based on some file or other
(@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
@code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
@code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
-guess at the file type.
+guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
+
+@item G w
+@kindex G w (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-make-web-group
+@cindex DejaNews
+@cindex Alta Vista
+@cindex InReference
+@cindex nnweb
+Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
+(@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
+command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
+search engine type and the search string. Legal search engine types
+include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
+@xref{Web Searches}.
@item G DEL
@kindex G DEL (Group)
@kindex G V (Group)
@findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
-(@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}).
+(@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
@item G v
@kindex G v (Group)
methods.
@vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
-If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
+If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
@section Group Parameters
@cindex group parameters
-Gnus stores all information on a group in a list that is usually known
-as the @dfn{group info}. This list has from three to six elements.
-Here's an example info.
-
-@lisp
-("nnml:mail.ding" 3 ((1 . 232) 244 (256 . 270)) ((tick 246 249))
- (nnml "private") ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
-@end lisp
-
-The first element is the @dfn{group name}, as Gnus knows the group,
-anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
-normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
-read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
-of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
-server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
-parameters}, which is what this section is about.
-
-Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
-In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
-three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
-
The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
@table @code
@item to-group
@cindex to-group
-If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
-. "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that group.
+Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
+posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
+
+@item newsgroup
+@cindex newsgroup
+If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, Gnus will treat
+all responses as if they were responses to news articles. This can be
+useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a news group.
+
+@item gcc-self
+@cindex gcc-self
+If this symbol is present in the group parameter list and set to
+@code{t}, new composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current
+group. If it is present and set to @code{none}, no @code{Gcc:} header
+will be generated, if it is present and a string, this string will be
+inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header (this symbol takes precedence over
+any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later).
@item auto-expire
@cindex auto-expire
-If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
-are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
-@pxref{Expiring Mail}.
+If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
+. t)}, , all articles that are read will be marked as expirable. For an
+alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
@item total-expire
@cindex total-expire
-If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
+If the group parameter has an element that looks like
+@code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
-caution.
+caution.
@item expiry-wait
@cindex expiry-wait
the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
@item score-file
+@cindex score file group parameter
Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
-@samp{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
+@file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
+@item adapt-file
+@cindex adapt file group parameter
+Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
+@file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
+All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
+
@item admin-address
When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
put the admin address somewhere convenient.
+@item display
+Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} says which articles to
+display on entering the group. Legal values are:
+
+@table @code
+@item all
+Display all articles, both read and unread.
+
+@item default
+Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
+ticked articles.
+@end table
+
@item comment
-This parameter allows you to enter a arbitrary comment on the group.
+Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
+are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
+Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
+groups.
@item @var{(variable form)}
You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
-are entering. Say you want to turn threading off in
-@samp{news.answers}. You'd then put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in
-the group parameters of that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be
-made into a local variable in the summary buffer you enter, and the form
-@code{nil} will be @code{eval}ed there.
+are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
+you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
+that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
+in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
+@code{eval}ed there.
This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
-If you want to hear a beep when you enter the group
-@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, you could put something like
-@code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
-@code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the @code{(ding)}
-form, but who cares?
+If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
+something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
+group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
+@code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
@end table
-If you want to change the group info you can use the @kbd{G E} command
-to enter a buffer where you can edit it.
+Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
-You usually don't want to edit the entire group info, so you'd be better
-off using the @kbd{G p} command to just edit the group parameters.
+Also @pxref{Topic Parameters}.
@node Listing Groups
List all groups that have unread articles
(@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
-only lists groups of level five or lower (i.e., just subscribed groups).
+only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
+@code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
+groups).
@item L
@itemx A u
@item A m
@kindex A m (Group)
@findex gnus-group-list-matching
-List all subscribed groups with unread articles that match a regexp
+List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
(@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
@item A M
List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
-to do a @kbd{A m} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
-thing to match on.
+to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
+thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
+don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
+Take the output with some grains of salt.
@item A a
@kindex A a (Group)
@findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
+@item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
+@findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
+Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
+
@item gnus-group-sort-by-level
@findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
Sort by group level.
@item gnus-group-sort-by-method
@findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
-Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
+Sort alphabetically on the select method.
@end table
@item G S r
@kindex G S r (Group)
@findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
-Sort the group buffer by group level
+Sort the group buffer by group rank
(@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
@item G S m
When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
+You can also sort a subset of the groups:
+
+@table @kbd
+@item G P a
+@kindex G P a (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
+group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
+
+@item G P u
+@kindex G P u (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
+unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
+
+@item G P l
+@kindex G P l (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
+
+@item G P v
+@kindex G P v (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}).
+
+@item G P r
+@kindex G P r (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
+(@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}).
+
+@item G P m
+@kindex G P m (Group)
+@findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
+Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
+backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
+
+@end table
+
+
@node Group Maintenance
@section Group Maintenance
(@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
@end table
-@findex gnus-browse-server-mode
+@findex gnus-browse-mode
A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
-will be use the @code{gnus-browse-server-mode}. This buffer looks a bit
-(well, a lot) like a normal group buffer, but with one major difference
-- you can't enter any of the groups. If you want to read any of the
-news available on that server, you have to subscribe to the groups you
-think may be interesting, and then you have to exit this buffer. The
-new groups will be added to the group buffer, and then you can read them
-as you would any other group.
-
-Future versions of Gnus may possibly permit reading groups straight from
-the browse buffer.
+will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
+a lot) like a normal group buffer.
Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
@item Q
@kindex Q (Group)
@findex gnus-group-quit
-Quit Gnus without saving any startup files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
+Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
+The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
@end table
@vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
Note:
@quotation
-Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, feels her feet go
+Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
plastic chair.
even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
+Here's an example:
+
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs -- I wuw it!
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ Naughty Emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+@end example
+
@findex gnus-topic-mode
@kindex t (Group)
To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
@menu
* Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
* Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
+* Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
* Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
+* Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
@end menu
@vindex gnus-topic-line-format
The topic lines themselves are created according to the
-@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
-Elements allowed are:
+@code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
+Legal elements are:
@table @samp
@item i
@vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
@code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
-The default is @code{2}.
+The default is 2.
@vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
@code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
+@vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
+The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
+topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
+
@node Topic Commands
@subsection Topic Commands
@table @kbd
@item T n
-@kindex T n (Group)
+@kindex T n (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-create-topic
Prompt for a new topic name and create it
(@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
@item T m
-@kindex T m (Group)
+@kindex T m (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-move-group
Move the current group to some other topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command understands the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+(@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@item T c
-@kindex T c (Group)
+@kindex T c (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-copy-group
Copy the current group to some other topic
-(@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command understands the
-process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+(@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@item T D
-@kindex T D (Group)
+@kindex T D (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-remove-group
Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
-This command understands the process/prefix convention
+This command uses the process/prefix convention
(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@item T M
-@kindex T M (Group)
+@kindex T M (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-move-matching
Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
(@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
@item T C
-@kindex T C (Group)
+@kindex T C (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
(@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
@item T #
-@kindex T # (Group)
+@kindex T # (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
(@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
@item T M-#
-@kindex T M-# (Group)
+@kindex T M-# (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
(@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
@item RET
-@kindex RET (Group)
+@kindex RET (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-select-group
@itemx SPACE
Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
@item T TAB
-@kindex T TAB (Group)
+@kindex T TAB (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-indent
``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
``un-indent'' the topic instead.
@item C-k
-@kindex C-k (Group)
+@kindex C-k (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-kill-group
-Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
+Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
+topic will be removed along with the topic.
@item C-y
-@kindex C-y (Group)
+@kindex C-y (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-yank-group
-Yank the previously killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
-Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
+Yank the previously killed group or topic
+(@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
+before all groups.
@item T r
-@kindex T r (Group)
+@kindex T r (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-rename
Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
@item T DEL
-@kindex T DEL (Group)
+@kindex T DEL (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-delete
Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
@item A T
-@kindex A T (Group)
+@kindex A T (Topic)
@findex gnus-topic-list-active
List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
(@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
+@item G p
+@kindex G p (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
+@cindex group parameters
+@cindex topic parameters
+@cindex parameters
+Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
+@xref{Topic Parameters}.
+
@end table
-@node Topic Topology
+@node Topic Sorting
+@subsection Topic Sorting
+@cindex topic sorting
+
+You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
+commands:
+
+
+@table @kbd
+@item T S a
+@kindex T S a (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
+Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
+
+@item T S u
+@kindex T S u (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
+Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
+
+@item T S l
+@kindex T S l (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
+Sort the current topic by group level
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
+
+@item T S v
+@kindex T S v (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
+Sort the current topic by group score
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}).
+
+@item T S r
+@kindex T S r (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
+Sort the current topic by group rank
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}).
+
+@item T S m
+@kindex T S m (Topic)
+@findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
+Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
+(@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
+
+@end table
+
+@xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
+
+
+@node Topic Topology
@subsection Topic Topology
@cindex topic topology
@cindex topology
@example
Gnus
Emacs -- I wuw it!
- 3: comp.emacs
- 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
Naughty Emacs
452: alt.sex.emacs
0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
Misc
- 8: comp.binaries.fractals
- 13: comp.sources.unix
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
@end example
-So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
-sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
-top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
+So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
+that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
+just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
+follows:
@lisp
(("Gnus" visible)
allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
+@node Topic Parameters
+@subsection Topic Parameters
+@cindex topic parameters
+
+All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
+ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
+parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
+
+Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
+parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
+know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
+verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
+
+@example
+Gnus
+ Emacs
+ 3: comp.emacs
+ 2: alt.religion.emacs
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ Relief
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+ 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
+ Misc
+ 8: comp.binaries.fractals
+ 13: comp.sources.unix
+ 452: alt.sex.emacs
+@end example
+
+The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
+. "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
+@code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
+topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
+@samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
+. "religion.SCORE")}.
+
+Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
+will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
+group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
+score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
+get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
+
+This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
+there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
+parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
+@code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
+gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
+of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
+happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
+happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
+
+
@node Misc Group Stuff
@section Misc Group Stuff
@menu
* Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
* Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
+* Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
* File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
@end menu
@item ^
@kindex ^ (Group)
@findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
-Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}). @xref{The
-Server Buffer}.
+Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
+@xref{The Server Buffer}.
@item a
@kindex a (Group)
@findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
@vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
-(@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}). The
-@code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} variable controls whether
-this command is to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t}
-by default.
+(@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
+@code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
+to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
@findex gnus-activate-all-groups
@cindex activating groups
@kindex R (Group)
@cindex restarting
@findex gnus-group-restart
-Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
+Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
+file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
+Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
@end table
@table @kbd
-@item M-f
-@kindex M-f (Group)
+
+@item H f
+@kindex H f (Group)
@findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
+@vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
@cindex FAQ
@cindex ange-ftp
Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
(@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
@code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
-remote machine. @code{ange-ftp} will be used for fetching the file.
+remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
+that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
+between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
+for fetching the file.
-@item D
-@kindex D (Group)
+If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
+through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
+
+@item H d
+@itemx C-c C-d
+@kindex H d (Group)
+@kindex C-c C-d (Group)
@cindex describing groups
@cindex group description
@findex gnus-group-describe-group
@end table
+@node Group Timestamp
+@subsection Group Timestamp
+@cindex timestamps
+@cindex group timestamps
+
+It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
+group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
+@code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
+
+@lisp
+(add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
+@end lisp
+
+After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
+
+This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
+use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
+@end lisp
+
+This will result in lines looking like:
+
+@example
+* 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
+ 0: custom 19961002T012713
+@end example
+
+As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
+may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
+something like:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-group-line-format
+ "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
+@end lisp
+
+
@node File Commands
@subsection File Commands
@cindex file commands
@findex gnus-group-read-init-file
@vindex gnus-init-file
@cindex reading init file
-Read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
+Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
@file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
@item s
(@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
-@item Z
-@kindex Z (Group)
-@findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
-Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
+@c @item Z
+@c @kindex Z (Group)
+@c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
+@c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
@end table
A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
+The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
+group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
+
+You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
+
@menu
* Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
* Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
* Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
* Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
* Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
+* Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
* Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
* Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
* Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
* Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
* Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
* Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
+* Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
+* Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
@end menu
@vindex gnus-summary-line-format
You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
-lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions.
+lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
+(@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
@item S
Subject string.
@item s
-Subject if the article is the root, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject}
-otherwise.
+Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
+different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
+(@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
@item F
-Full @code{From} line.
+Full @code{From} header.
@item n
The name (from the @code{From} header).
@item a
The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
-spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
-slower, but may be more thorough.
+spec in that it uses the function designated by the
+@code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
+may be more thorough.
@item A
The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
the @code{a} spec.
@item T
Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
pushes everything after it off the screen).
-@item \[
-Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{\[}, but can also be @samp{<}
-for adopted articles.
-@item \]
-Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{\]}, but can also be @samp{>}
+@item [
+Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
+for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
+@item ]
+Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
for adopted articles.
@item >
One space for each thread level.
@code{Xref}.
@item D
@code{Date}.
+@item d
+The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
+@item o
+The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
@item M
@code{Message-ID}.
@item r
Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
down summary buffer generation somewhat.
@item e
-A single character will be displayed if the article has any children.
+An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
+article has any children.
+@item P
+The line number.
@item u
User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
@vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. Here are the
-elements you can play with:
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. The default
+is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
+
+Here are the elements you can play with:
@table @samp
@item G
Number of unselected articles in this group.
@item Z
A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
-either as @samp{<%U(+%u) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
+either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
and no unselected ones.
@item g
@item S
Subject of the current article.
@item u
-Used-defined spec.
+User-defined spec.
@item s
Name of the current score file.
@item d
@item gnus-summary-highlight
@vindex gnus-summary-highlight
Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
-list where the elements are on the format @code{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
+list where the elements are on the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
@lisp
@kindex j (Summary)
@kindex G j (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-goto-article
-Ask for an article number and then go that article
+Ask for an article number and then go to that article
(@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
@item G g
@kindex G g (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
-(@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
+without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
@end table
If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
@vindex gnus-auto-select-next
@item gnus-auto-select-next
-If you are at the end of the group and issue one of the movement
-commands, Gnus will offer to go to the next group. If this variable is
-@code{t} and the next group is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and
-return to the group buffer. If this variable is neither @code{t} nor
-@code{nil}, Gnus will select the next group, no matter whether it has
-any unread articles or not. As a special case, if this variable is
-@code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
-confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same will
-happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
-Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
-command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
-@pxref{Group Levels}.
+If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
+no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
+the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
+empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
+this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
+next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
+special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
+next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
+@code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
+the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
+@code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
+without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
@item gnus-auto-select-same
@vindex gnus-auto-select-same
If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
-article with the same subject as the current. This variable is not
+article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
+mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
+for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
@item gnus-summary-check-current
@section Choosing Articles
@cindex selecting articles
+@menu
+* Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
+* Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Choosing Commands
+@subsection Choosing Commands
+
None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
and they all select and display an article.
history as you like.
@end table
+
+@node Choosing Variables
+@subsection Choosing Variables
+
Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
@table @code
Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
@item A s
+@itemx s
@kindex A s (Summary)
+@kindex s (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
Perform an isearch in the article buffer
(@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
command uses the process/prefix convention.
+@item S w
+@kindex S w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
+Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
+(@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}).
+
+@item S W
+@kindex S W (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
+Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
+message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
+the process/prefix convention.
+
@item S o m
@kindex S o m (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
Forward the current article to some other person
-(@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
-
-@item S o p
-@kindex S o p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-post-forward
-Forward the current article to a newsgroup
-(@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
+(@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
+headers of the forwarded article.
@item S m
@itemx m
@item S D b
@kindex S D b (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
-@vindex gnus-bounced-headers-junk
@cindex bouncing mail
If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
-sending the mail off again. The headers that match the regexp
-@code{gnus-bounced-headers-junk} (default @samp{^Received:}) are
-automatically deleted first. If you give a prefix to this command, and
+sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
very well fail, though.
@item S D r
@kindex S D r (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-resend-message
-@vindex gnus-ignored-resent-headers
Not to be confused with the previous command,
@code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
@code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
-So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl. All old
-headers that match the regular expression
-@code{gnus-ignored-resent-headers} will be deleted before resending the
-message. The default is @samp{"^Return-receipt"}.
+So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
@code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
-@code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
+@code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
+
+This command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@item S O m
@kindex S O m (Summary)
(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
-@item S O p
-@kindex S O p (Summary)
-@findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
-Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
-(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
+@item S M-c
+@kindex S M-c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
+@cindex crossposting
+@cindex excessive crossposting
+Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
+current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
+
+@findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
+This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
+crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
+using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
+command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
+
@end table
@cindex post
@cindex composing news
-Commands for posting an article:
+Commands for posting a news article:
@table @kbd
@item S p
(@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
process/prefix convention.
+@item S n
+@kindex S n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
+Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
+message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
+
+@item S n
+@kindex S n (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
+Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
+message through mail and include the original message
+(@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
+the process/prefix convention.
+
+@item S o p
+@kindex S o p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-post-forward
+Forward the current article to a newsgroup
+(@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
+headers of the forwarded article.
+
+@item S O p
+@kindex S O p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
+Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
+(@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
+
@item S u
@kindex S u (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-post-news
If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
-to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
+to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
-header by substituting one of those words for @code{Message-ID}. Then
-just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as you would do normally.
-The previous article will be canceled/superseded.
+header by substituting one of those words for the word
+@code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
+you would do normally. The previous article will be
+canceled/superseded.
Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
@node Unread Articles
@subsection Unread Articles
-The following marks mark articles as unread, in one form or other.
+The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
+other.
-@vindex gnus-dormant-mark
-@vindex gnus-ticked-mark
@table @samp
@item !
+@vindex gnus-ticked-mark
+Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
+
@dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
-article forever, you'll have to save it. Ticked articles have a
-@samp{!} (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}) in the first column.
+article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
+Articles}).
@item ?
@vindex gnus-dormant-mark
-A @dfn{dormant} article is marked with a @samp{?}
-(@code{gnus-dormant-mark}), and will only appear in the summary buffer
-if there are followups to it.
+Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
+
+@dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
+are followups to it.
@item SPACE
@vindex gnus-unread-mark
-An @dfn{unread} article is marked with a @samp{SPACE}
-(@code{gnus-unread-mark}). These are articles that haven't been read at
-all yet.
+Markes as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
+
+@dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
@end table
@item r
@vindex gnus-del-mark
-Articles that are marked as read. They have a @samp{r}
-(@code{gnus-del-mark}) in the first column. These are articles that the
-user has marked as read more or less manually.
+These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
+command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
@item R
@vindex gnus-read-mark
-Articles that are actually read are marked with @samp{R}
-(@code{gnus-read-mark}).
+Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
@item O
@vindex gnus-ancient-mark
-Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions are now
-@dfn{old} and marked with @samp{O} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
+Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
+@dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
@item K
@vindex gnus-killed-mark
@item F
@vindex gnus-souped-mark
-@sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}).
+@sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
@item Q
@vindex gnus-sparse-mark
-Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}).
+Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
+Threading}.
+
+@item M
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
+Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
+(@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
+
@end table
All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
-They are interpreted differently by the adaptive scoring scheme,
-however.
+They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
One more special mark, though:
@table @samp
@item E
@vindex gnus-expirable-mark
-You can also mark articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as
-such automatically). That doesn't make much sense in normal groups,
-because a user does not control the expiring of news articles, but in
-mail groups, for instance, articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable}
-can be deleted by Gnus at any time. Expirable articles are marked with
-@samp{E} (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
+Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
+
+Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
+automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
+control the expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
+articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
+any time.
@end table
long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
-encounters the article.
+encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
@item
@vindex gnus-replied-mark
Mark the current article as read
(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
+@item D
+@kindex D (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
+Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
+
@item M k
@itemx k
@kindex k (Summary)
@item M C
@kindex M C (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-catchup
-Mark all unread articles in the group as read
-(@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
+Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
@item M C-c
@kindex M C-c (Summary)
Remove the process mark from all articles
(@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
+@item M P i
+@kindex M P i (Summary)
+@findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
+Invert the list of process marked articles
+(@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
+
@item M P R
@kindex M P R (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
@findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
(@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
+
+@item M P k
+@kindex M P k (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
+Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
+(@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
+
+@item M P y
+@kindex M P y (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
+Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
+(@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
+
+@item M P w
+@kindex M P w (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
+Push the current process mark set onto the stack
+(@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
+
@end table
Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
+@item / t
+@kindex / t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
+Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles that are
+older than (or equal to) that number of days
+(@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
+articles that are younger than that number of days.
+
@item / n
@kindex / n (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
(setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
(concat
"\\`\\[?\\("
+ (mapconcat
+ 'identity
+ '("looking"
+ "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
+ "help" "query" "problem" "question"
+ "answer" "reference" "announce"
+ "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
+ ;; ...
+ )
+ "\\|")
+ "\\)\\s *\\("
(mapconcat 'identity
- '("looking"
- "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
- "help" "query" "problem" "question"
- "answer" "reference" "announce"
- "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
- ;; ...
- )
+ '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
"\\|")
- "\\)\\s *\\("
- (mapconcat 'identity
- '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
- "\\|")
- "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
+ "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
@end lisp
All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
generated.
+@item gnus-thread-expunge-below
+@vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
+All threads that have a total score (as defined by
+@code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
+expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
+threads are expunged.
+
@item gnus-thread-hide-killed
@vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
@item gnus-thread-indent-level
@vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
-The default is @code{4}.
+The default is 4.
+
+@item gnus-parse-headers-hook
+@vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
+Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
+@code{(gnus-decode-rfc1522)}, which means that QPized headers will be
+slightly decoded in a hackish way. This is likely to change in the
+future when Gnus becomes @sc{MIME}ified.
+
@end table
@kindex T k (Summary)
@kindex M-C-k (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
-Mark all articles in the current sub-thread as read
+Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
(@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
articles instead.
@kindex T l (Summary)
@kindex M-C-l (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
-Lower the score of the current thread
+Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
(@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
@item T i
@kindex T i (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
-Increase the score of the current thread
+Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
(@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
@item T #
@kindex T # (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
-Set the process mark on the current thread
+Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
(@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
@item T M-#
@kindex T M-# (Summary)
@findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
-Remove the process mark from the current thread
+Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
(@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
@item T T
@item T s
@kindex T s (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-show-thread
-Expose the thread hidden under the current article, if any
+Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
(@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
@item T h
@kindex T h (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
-Hide the current (sub)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
+Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
@item T S
@kindex T S (Summary)
@node Asynchronous Fetching
@section Asynchronous Article Fetching
@cindex asynchronous article fetching
+@cindex article pre-fetch
+@cindex pre-fetch
If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
-while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
+while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
happen automatically.
-@vindex nntp-async-number
+@vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
-@code{nntp-async-number}. This is five by default, which means that when
-you read an article in the group, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch the next
-five articles. If this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch
-all the articles that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no
-pre-fetching will be made.
-
-@vindex gnus-asynchronous-article-function
-You may wish to create some sort of scheme for choosing which articles
-that @code{nntp} should consider as candidates for pre-fetching. For
-instance, you may wish to pre-fetch all articles with high scores, and
-not pre-fetch low-scored articles. You can do that by setting the
-@code{gnus-asynchronous-article-function}, which will be called with an
-alist where the keys are the article numbers. Your function should
-return an alist where the articles you are not interested in have been
-removed. You could also do sorting on article score and the like.
+@code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
+that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
+the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
+pre-fetch all the articles that it can without bound. If it is
+@code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be made.
+
+@vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
+@findex gnus-async-read-p
+There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
+articles, for instance. Which articles to pre-fetch is controlled by
+the @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable. This function should
+return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
+pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
+@code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
+data structure as the only parameter.
+
+If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles that are
+shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
+ "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
+ (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
+ (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
+ 100)))
+
+(setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
+@end lisp
+
+These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
+preferrably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
+It's also probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
+
+@vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
+Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
+@code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
+articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
+
+@table @code
+@item read
+Remove articles when they are read.
+
+@item exit
+Remove articles when exiting the group.
+@end table
+
+The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
+
+@vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
+If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
+from the next group.
@node Article Caching
Save the current article in plain file format
(@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
+@item O F
+@kindex O F (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
+Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
+file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
+
@item O b
@kindex O b (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
@item gnus-Numeric-save-name
@findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
-Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
+File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
@item gnus-numeric-save-name
@findex gnus-numeric-save-name
-Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
+File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
@item gnus-Plain-save-name
@findex gnus-Plain-save-name
-Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
+File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
@item gnus-plain-save-name
@findex gnus-plain-save-name
-Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
+File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
@end table
@vindex gnus-split-methods
We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
-head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function); or it
-can be a list (which will be @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions
-have a non-@code{nil} result, the @dfn{file} will be used as a default
-prompt. In addition, the result of the operation itself will be used if
-the function or form called returns a string or a list of strings.
+head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
+group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
+@code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
+the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
+result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
+called returns a string or a list of strings.
You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
say something like:
@lisp
- (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
- (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
+(setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
+ (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
@end lisp
@item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
@end table
+@item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
+@vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
+Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
+@code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
+that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
+time.
+
@item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
@vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
@menu
* Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
+* Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look niced.
* Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
* Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
* Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
* Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
+* Article Signature:: What is a signature?
@end menu
@item gnus-supercite-regexp
@vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
-Regexp matching normal SuperCite attribution lines.
+Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
@item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
@vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
-Regexp matching mangled SuperCite attribution lines.
+Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
@item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
@vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
@vindex gnus-signature-face
@findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
-Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} in an article will be
-considered a signature and will be highlighted with
-@code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by default.
+Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
+Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
+highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
+default.
@end table
+@node Article Fontisizing
+@subsection Article Fontisizing
+@cindex emphasis
+@cindex article emphasis
+
+@findex gnus-article-emphasize
+@kindex W e (Summary)
+People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
+like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
+running the article through the @kbd{W e}
+(@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
+
+@vindex gnus-article-emphasis
+How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-article-emphasis} variable. This is an alist where the first
+element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
+that says what regular expression grouping used to find the entire
+emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
+should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
+groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
+highlighting.
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-article-emphasis
+ '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
+ ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
+@vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
+By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
+@code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
+@code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
+@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
+@code{gnus-emphasis-undeline-bold}, and
+@code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
+
+If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
+customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
+to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
+say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
+@end lisp
+
+
@node Article Hiding
@subsection Article Hiding
@cindex article hiding
@item W W s
@kindex W W s (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-hide-signature
-Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}).
+Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
+Signature}.
@item W W p
@kindex W W p (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
+@item W W P
+@kindex W W P (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-hide-pem
+Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) gruft
+(@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
+
@item W W c
@kindex W W c (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-hide-citation
@vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
-by this format-like variable. These specs are legal:
+by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
+specs are legal:
@table @samp
@item b
Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
citation customization.
-@vindex gnus-signature-limit
-@code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
-signature. If it is a number, no signature may not be longer (in
-characters) than that number. If it is a function, the function will be
-called without any parameters, and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no
-signature in the buffer. If it is a string, it will be used as a
-regexp. If it matches, the text in question is not a signature.
-
@node Article Washing
@subsection Article Washing
@item W w
@kindex W w (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
-Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
+Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
+function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
+late and certainly after any highlighting.
+
+You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
+when filling.
@item W c
@kindex W c (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-remove-cr
Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
-@item W L
-@kindex W L (Summary)
-@findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
-Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
-(@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
-
@item W q
@kindex W q (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
@vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
Look for and display any X-Face headers
(@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
-function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable. If
-this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a sub-shell.
-If it is a function, this function will be called with the face as the
-argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which is a regexp)
-matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown. The default
-action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the face; under
-XEmacs the default action is to display the face after the @code{From}
-header.
+function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
+If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
+sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
+face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
+is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
+The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
+face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
+@code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
+support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
+X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
+external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
+want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
+last.
@item W b
@kindex W b (Summary)
Add clickable buttons to the article headers
(@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
+@item W E l
+@kindex W E l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
+Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
+
+@item W E m
+@kindex W E m (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
+Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
+lines with a single empty line.
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
+
+@item W E t
+@kindex W E t (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
+Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
+(@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
+
+@item W E a
+@kindex W E a (Summary)
+@findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
+Do all the three commands above
+(@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
+
@end table
@item button-par
Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
-highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use @code{0} here.
+highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
@item use-p
This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
@item gnus-article-button-face
@vindex gnus-article-button-face
-Face used on bottons.
+Face used on buttons.
@item gnus-article-mouse-face
@vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
@findex gnus-article-date-local
Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
+@item W T s
+@kindex W T s (Summary)
+@vindex gnus-article-time-format
+@findex gnus-article-date-user
+@findex format-time-string
+Display the date using a user-defined format
+(@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
+@code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
+to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
+for a list possible format specs.
+
@item W T e
@kindex W T e (Summary)
@findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
@end table
+@node Article Signature
+@subsection Article Signature
+@cindex signatures
+@cindex article signature
+
+@vindex gnus-signature-separator
+Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
+body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
+that says what is to be considered a signature is
+@code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
+@samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
+non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
+of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
+from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-signature-separator
+ '("^-- $" ; The standard
+ "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
+ "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
+ ; line of dashes. Shame!
+ "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
+ "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
+ "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
+@end lisp
+
+The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
+positives.
+
+@vindex gnus-signature-limit
+@code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
+signature.
+
+@enumerate
+@item
+If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
+that integer.
+@item
+If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
+than that number.
+@item
+If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
+and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
+@item
+If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
+in question is not a signature.
+@end enumerate
+
+This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
+listed above.
+
+
+@node Article Commands
+@section Article Commands
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item A P
+@cindex PostScript
+@cindex printing
+@kindex A P (Summary)
+@vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
+@findex gnus-summary-print-article
+Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
+run just before printing the buffer.
+
+@end table
+
+
@node Summary Sorting
@section Summary Sorting
@cindex summary sorting
@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
+@item C-c C-s C-l
+@kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
+Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
+
@item C-c C-s C-i
@kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
+If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
+the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
+ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
+grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
+@kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
+article.
+
@findex gnus-summary-refer-references
@kindex A R (Summary)
You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
@findex gnus-summary-refer-article
@kindex M-^ (Summary)
+@cindex Message-ID
+@cindex fetching by Message-ID
You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
(@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
-@code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long thingies that look
-something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You have to get
-it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
+@code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
+that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
+have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
@vindex gnus-refer-article-method
If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
@table @kbd
+@item .
+@kindex . (Pick)
+@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
+Pick the article on the current line
+(@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
+go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
+is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
+
@item SPACE
@kindex SPACE (Pick)
-@findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
-Pick the article (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
+@findex gnus-pick-next-page
+Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
+at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
@item u
@kindex u (Pick)
@item e
@kindex e (Pick)
-@findex gnus-uu-unmark-regexp
-Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-regexp}).
+@findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
+Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
@item E
@kindex E (Pick)
-@findex gnus-uu-unmark-regexp
-Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-regexp}).
+@findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
+Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
@item b
@kindex b (Pick)
@vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
@code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
+@vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
+If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
+all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
+
+@vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
+The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
+standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
+displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
+@code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
+Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
+@code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
+
@node Binary Groups
@subsection Binary Groups
@example
@{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
- | \[Jan]
- | \[odd]-[Eri]
- | \(***)-[Eri]
- | \[odd]-[Paa]
+ | \[Jan]
+ | \[odd]-[Eri]
+ | \(***)-[Eri]
+ | \[odd]-[Paa]
\[Bjo]
\[Gun]
\[Gun]-[Jor]
@item B M-C-e
@kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
-Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
+Delete all the expirable articles in the group
(@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
@item B DEL
@kindex B DEL (Summary)
-@findex gnus-summary-delete-articles
+@findex gnus-summary-delete-article
Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
(@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
(@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
-Something similar can be done by just starting to compose a mail
-message. Instead of typing @kbd{C-c C-c} to mail it off, you can type
-@kbd{C-c M-C-p} instead. This will put the message you have just created
-into the current mail group.
-
@item B r
@kindex B r (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-respool-article
Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
+@code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
+select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
+which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
@item B w
@itemx e
If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
+
+@item B p
+@kindex B p (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
+Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
+follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
+@code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
+(@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
+article from your news server (or rather, from
+@code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
+report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
+it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
+propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
+just not have arrived yet.
+
@end table
@vindex gnus-move-split-methods
(@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
suggestions you find reasonable.
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-move-split-methods
+ '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
+ ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
+ (".*" "nnml:misc")))
+@end lisp
+
@node Various Summary Stuff
@section Various Summary Stuff
@menu
* Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
* Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
+* Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
* Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
@end menu
@item H h
@kindex H h (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
-Give a very brief description of the most important summary keystrokes
-(@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
+Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
+keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
@item H i
@kindex H i (Summary)
the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
@end table
+@node Summary Generation Commands
+@subsection Summary Generation Commands
+
+@table @kbd
+
+@item Y g
+@kindex Y g (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-prepare
+Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
+
+@item Y c
+@kindex Y c (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
+Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
+(@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
+
+@end table
+
@node Really Various Summary Commands
@subsection Really Various Summary Commands
@table @kbd
-@item A D
-@kindex A D (Summary)
+@item C-d
+@kindex C-d (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
-some format, you @kbd{A D} and read these messages in a more convenient
+some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
fashion.
+@item M-C-d
+@kindex M-C-d (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-read-document
+This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
+several documents into one biiig group
+(@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
+@code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
+@code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
+command understands the process/prefix convention
+(@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
+
@item C-t
@kindex C-t (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
-Toggle truncation of summary lines (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}).
+Toggle truncation of summary lines
+(@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
+line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
+to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
@item =
@kindex = (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-expand-window
Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
+
@end table
called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
@code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
-process.
+process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
+group mode having no more (unread) groups.
@item Z E
@itemx Q
@findex gnus-summary-prev-group
Exit the group and go to the previous group
(@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
+
+@item Z s
+@kindex Z s (Summary)
+@findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
+Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
+and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
+given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
+command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
@end table
@vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
-both subscribed and unsubscribed groups.
+both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
+
+
+@node Crosspost Handling
+@section Crosspost Handling
@cindex velveeta
@cindex spamming
posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
-heinous crime.
+heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
+(@pxref{NoCeM}).
Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
-separately to several groups is not.
+separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
+@dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
+@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
+excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
@cindex cross-posting
@cindex Xref
C'est la vie.
+For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
+
+
+@node Duplicate Suppression
+@section Duplicate Suppression
+
+By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
+article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
+(@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
+approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
+reasons.
+
+@enumerate
+@item
+The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
+is evil and not very common.
+
+@item
+The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
+@file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
+
+@item
+You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
+different @sc{nntp} servers.
+
+@item
+You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
+@end enumerate
+
+I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
+well, but these four are the most common situations.
+
+If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
+consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
+will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
+otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
+all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
+mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
+so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
+once.
+
+Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
+sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
+fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
+to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
+article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
+saw the article in.
+
+@table @code
+@item gnus-suppress-duplicates
+@vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
+If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
+
+@item gnus-save-duplicate-list
+@vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
+If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
+make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
+However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
+single Gnus session are suppressed.
+
+@item gnus-duplicate-list-length
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
+This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
+suppression list. The default is 10000.
+
+@item gnus-duplicate-file
+@vindex gnus-duplicate-file
+The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
+default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
+@end table
+
+If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
+@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
+you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
+the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
+so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
+@code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
+to you to figure out, I think.
+
@node The Article Buffer
@chapter The Article Buffer
* Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
* Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
* Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
-* Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer
+* Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
* Misc Article:: Other stuff.
@end menu
@vindex gnus-show-mime-method
@vindex gnus-strict-mime
@findex metamail-buffer
-Gnus handles @sc{mime} by shoving the articles through
+Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
@code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
@sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
-@sc{mime} headers in the article.
+@sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
+set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
+buffer. These can't be avoided.
It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
treatment of the article before it is displayed.
@findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
-By default it contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
+By default this hook just contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
@code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
@pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
-Date}.
+Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
+things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
@vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
Hook called in article mode buffers.
+@item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
+@vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
+Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
+@code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
+
@vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
@item gnus-article-mode-line-format
This variable is a format string along the same lines as
-@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts exactly the same
-format specifications as that variable.
+@code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
+format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
+
+@table @samp
+@item w
+The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
+character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
+performed.
+@end table
+
@vindex gnus-break-pages
@item gnus-break-pages
@kindex C-c C-c (Post)
All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
-by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. (@pxref{(message)Top}). If you are in a
-foreign news group, and you wish to post the article using the foreign
-server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c} to make Gnus try to post
-using the foreign server.
+by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
+Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
+article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
+to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
@menu
* Mail:: Mailing and replying.
can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
the ``current'' server for posting.
-If you give a zero prefix (i. e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
+If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
-@vindex news-inews-hook
@cindex ispell
@findex ispell-message
@lisp
Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
-the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
-@code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
+the mail. If you want to disable this completely, the
+@code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
+is the default.
@vindex gnus-message-archive-method
@code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
-use to store sent messages. It is @code{(nnfolder "archive"
-(nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))} by default, but you can use any
-mail select method (@code{nnml}, @code{nnmbox}, etc.). However,
-@code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method for doing this sort of
-thing. If you don't like the default directory chosen, you could say
-something like:
+use to store sent messages. The default is:
+
+@lisp
+(nnfolder "archive"
+ (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))
+@end lisp
+
+You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
+@code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
+for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
+directory chosen, you could say something like:
@lisp
(setq gnus-message-archive-method
Messages will be saved in all those groups.
@item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
+@item @code{nil}
+No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
@end itemize
Let's illustrate:
"misc-mail")))
@end lisp
-This is the default.
-
How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
messages in one file per month:
Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
-if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something nice --
-@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
+if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
+nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
-That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also offers two
-other variables for the people who don't like the default method. In
-that case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to
-@code{nil}; this will disable archiving.
+That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also a different
+way for the people who don't like the default method. In that case you
+should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}; this will
+disable archiving.
XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
-
@table @code
-@item gnus-author-copy
-@vindex gnus-author-copy
-@cindex AUTHORCOPY
-This is a file name, and all outgoing articles will be saved in that
-file. Initialized from the @code{AUTHORCOPY} environment variable.
-
-If this variable begins with the character @samp{|}, outgoing articles
-will be piped to the named program. It is possible to save an article in
-an MH folder as follows:
-
-@lisp
-(setq gnus-author-copy
- "|/usr/local/lib/mh/rcvstore +Article")
-@end lisp
-
-If the first character is not a pipe, articles are saved using the
-function specified by the @code{gnus-author-copy-saver} variable.
-
-@item gnus-author-copy-saver
-@vindex gnus-author-copy-saver
-@findex rmail-output
-A function called to save outgoing articles. This function will be
-called with the same of the file to store the article in. The default
-function is @code{rmail-output} which saves in the Unix mailbox format.
-
@item gnus-outgoing-message-group
@vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
-list where the first element says what backend to use (eg. @code{nntp},
+list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
@code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
@samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
-method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group, in
-all circumstances, @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the
-@code{nntp} backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
+method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
+@samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
+backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
-@sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number @code{13}, which
+@sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
@findex gnus-server-list-servers
List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
+@item s
+@kindex s (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-scan-server
+Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
+(@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
+servers.
+
+@item g
+@kindex g (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
+Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
+(@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
+a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
+
@end table
@var{(variable form)} pairs.
To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
-port @code{15} from that machine. This is what the select method should
+port 15 from that machine. This is what the select method should
look like then:
@lisp
(nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
@end lisp
+If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
+server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
+on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
+Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
+should probably look something like this:
+
+@lisp
+(nntp "firewall"
+ (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
+ (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
+ (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
+ (nntp-rlogin-parameters
+ ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
+@end lisp
+
+
@node Creating a Virtual Server
@subsection Creating a Virtual Server
@lisp
(nnspool "cache"
- (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
- (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
- (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
+ (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
+ (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
+ (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
@end lisp
Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
@subsection Servers and Methods
Wherever you would normally use a select method
-(eg. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
+(e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
over.
Mark the current server as unreachable
(@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
+@item M-o
+@kindex M-o (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
+Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
+(@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
+
+@item M-c
+@kindex M-c (Server)
+@findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
+Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
+(@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
+
@item R
@kindex R (Server)
@findex gnus-server-remove-denials
@cindex news backends
A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
-only two methods of getting news -- it can read from an @sc{nntp}
-server, or it can read from a local spool.
+only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
+or it can read from a local spool.
@menu
* NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
@code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
-the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. Another
-popular function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which will prompt you for
-an @sc{nntp} password and stuff.
+the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function.
+
+@item nntp-authinfo-function
+@vindex nntp-authinfo-function
+This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
+server. Available functions include:
+
+@table @code
+@item nntp-send-authinfo
+@findex nntp-send-authinfo
+This function will used you current login name as the user name and will
+prompt you for the password. This is the default.
+
+@item nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
+@findex nntp-send-nosy-authinfo
+This function will prompt you for both user name and password.
+
+@item nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
+@findex nntp-send-authinfo-from-file
+This function will use your current login name as the user name and will
+read the @sc{nntp} password from @file{~/.nntp-authinfo}.
+@end table
@item nntp-server-action-alist
@vindex nntp-server-action-alist
@findex nntp-open-rlogin
@findex nntp-open-network-stream
-@item nntp-open-server-function
-@vindex nntp-open-server-function
+@item nntp-open-connection-function
+@vindex nntp-open-connection-function
This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
@item nntp-rlogin-parameters
@vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
-@code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
+@code{nntp-open-connection-function}, this list will be used as the
parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
@item nntp-end-of-line
@vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
-@item nntp-async-number
-@vindex nntp-async-number
-How many articles should be pre-fetched when in asynchronous mode. If
-this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch all the articles
-that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be
-made.
-
@item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
@vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
@cindex news spool
Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
-and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups like
-@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}.
+and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
+contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
+instance.
Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
anything else) as the address.
* Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
* Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
* Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
+* Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
* Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
* Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
* Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
@lisp
(setq nnmail-split-methods
- '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
- ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
- ("other" "")))
+ '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
+ ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
+ ("other" "")))
@end lisp
-This will result in three new mail groups being created:
+This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
@samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
latter group.
element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
determine if it belongs in this mail group.
+If the first element is the special symbol @code{junk}, then messages
+that match the regexp will disappear into the aether. Use with
+extreme caution.
+
The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
mail belongs in that group.
The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
-expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
-mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
+expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
+that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
+processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
+rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
+In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
function of your choice. This function will be called without any
@code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
+@kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
+@kindex nnmail-split-history
+If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
+can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
+
Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
@cindex POP mail
@cindex MAILHOST
@cindex movemail
+@vindex nnmail-pop-password
+@vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
@code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
-@code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
+@code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
+password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
+@code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
+@code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
+
+@code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
+
+Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
+compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
+switched off.
When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
used for, well, anything, really.
+@vindex nnmail-split-hook
+@item nnmail-split-hook
+@findex article-decode-rfc1522
+@findex RFC1522 decoding
+Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
+just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
+free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
+is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
+in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
+is one likely function to add to this hook.
+
@vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
@vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
@item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
+This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
+with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
+to.
+
@item nnmail-delete-incoming
@vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
@cindex incoming mail files
file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
default for reasons of security.
+@c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
+(No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
+lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
+of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure to
+not lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
+was lost.
+
+Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
+
@item nnmail-use-long-file-names
@vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
@code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
-play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
+play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
;; People...
(any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
- "misc.misc"))")
+ "misc.misc")
@end lisp
This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
-the four possible split syntaxes:
+the five possible split syntaxes:
-@table @dfn
+@enumerate
-@item GROUP
-If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
+@item
+@samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
-@item (FIELD VALUE SPLIT)
-If the split is a list, and the first element is a string, then that
-means that if header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp),
-then store the message as specified by SPLIT.
+@item
+@var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, and the first
+element is a string, then that means that if header FIELD (a regexp)
+contains VALUE (also a regexp), then store the message as specified by
+SPLIT.
-@item (| SPLIT...)
-If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
-bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them matches. A SPLIT is
-said to match if it will cause the mail message to be stored in one or
-more groups.
+@item
+@var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
+@code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
+matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
+be stored in one or more groups.
-@item (& SPLIT...)
-If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then process
-all SPLITs in the list.
-@end table
+@item
+@var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
+@code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
-In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
-match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
-You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
-words.
+@item
+@code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
+this message anywhere.
+
+@item
+@var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
+element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
+function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
+a SPLIT.
+
+@end enumerate
+
+In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
+@var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
+syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
+field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
+@samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
@vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
-FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
-as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
-an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
-the cdr contains a string.
+@var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
+are expanded as specified by the variable
+@code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
+the car of the cells contains the key, and the cdr contains a string.
@vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
@code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
when all this splitting is performed.
+If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
+information in the headers, you can say things like:
+
+@example
+(any "debian-\(\\w*\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
+@end example
+
+That is, do @code{replace-match}-like substitions in the group names.
+
@node Mail and Procmail
@subsection Mail and Procmail
ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
quite important.
+Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
+@file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i. e., the incoming
+spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
+@code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
+@code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
+
+@lisp
+(setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
+(setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
+(setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
+(setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
+(setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
+@end lisp
+
@node Incorporating Old Mail
@subsection Incorporating Old Mail
articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
column in the summary buffer.
+Note that making a group auto-expirable don't mean that all read
+articles are expired---only the articles that are marked as expirable
+will be expired. Also note the using the @kbd{d} command won't make
+groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
+mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
+
Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
articles you have read to disappear after a while:
Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
@code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
+If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
+auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
+doesn't really mix very well.
+
@vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
@emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
with! So there!
+Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
+
+
+@node Washing Mail
+@subsection Washing Mail
+@cindex mail washing
+@cindex list server brain damage
+@cindex incoming mail treatment
+
+Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
+really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
+prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
+end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
+Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
+considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
+
+Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
+} to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
+be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
+laugh.
+
+Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
+displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
+storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
+various functions that can be put in these hooks.
+
+@table @code
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
+This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
+grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
+
+@table @code
+@item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
+@findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
+Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
+Emacs running on MS machines.
+
+@end table
+
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
+This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
+cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
+
+@table @code
+@item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
+@findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
+Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
+headers too make them look nice. Aaah.
+
+@item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
+@findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
+Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
+beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
+people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
+strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
+also be a list of regexp.
+
+For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
+@samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
+
+@lisp
+(setq nnmail-list-identifiers
+ '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
+@end lisp
+
+@item nnmail-remove-tabs
+@findex nnmail-remove-tabs
+Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
+
+@end table
+
+@item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
+@vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
+This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
+include:
+
+@table @code
+@item article-de-quoted-unreadable
+@findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
+Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
+
+@end table
+@end table
+
@node Duplicates
@subsection Duplicates
-@vindex nnmail-delete-duplicates
+@vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
@vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
-@vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
@cindex duplicate mails
If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
@code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
-this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s -
+this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
@code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
-@code{nnmail-delete-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
+@code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
-might take a while to complete.
+might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
+functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
+Commands}).
@node MH Spool
newsgroups.
@menu
-* Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
-* Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
-* Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
-* SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
+* Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
+* Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
+* Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
+* SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
+* Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
+* Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
@end menu
didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
@code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
-enter @file{"/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/"} as the the
-directory name, ange-ftp will actually allow you to read this directory
-over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
+enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
+@file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the the directory name,
+@code{ange-ftp} will actually allow you to read this directory over at
+@samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
@code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
-If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (eg. a C source
+If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
elements.
new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
-@code{nndoc}, set the process mark on all the articles in the buffer
-(@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r}) using
-@code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL} file is
-now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can delete
-that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
+@code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
+(@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
+the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
+using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
+file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
+delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
Virtual server variables:
and @code{news}.
@end table
+@menu
+* Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
+@end menu
+
+
+@node Document Server Internals
+@subsubsection Document Server Internals
+
+Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
+difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
+looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
+and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
+
+First, here's an example document type definition:
+
+@example
+(mmdf
+ (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
+ (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
+@end example
+
+The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
+regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
+variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
+types can be defined with very few settings:
+
+@table @code
+@item first-article
+If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
+something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
+totally ignored.
+
+@item article-begin
+This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
+says what the beginning of each article looks like.
+
+@item head-begin-function
+If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
+the article.
+
+@item nndoc-head-begin
+If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
+article.
+
+@item nndoc-head-end
+This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
+@samp{^$}---the empty line.
+
+@item body-begin-function
+If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
+of the article.
+
+@item body-begin
+This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
+to @samp{^\n}.
+
+@item body-end-function
+If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
+the article.
+
+@item body-end
+If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
+
+@item nndoc-file-end
+If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
+regexp will be totally ignored.
+
+@end table
+
+So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
+file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
+few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
+news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
+something that's palatable for Gnus:
+
+@table @code
+@item prepare-body-function
+If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
+will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
+document has encoded some parts of its contents.
+
+@item article-transform-function
+If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
+meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
+body of the article.
+
+@item generate-head-function
+If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
+understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
+expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
+called when requesting the headers of all articles.
+
+@end table
+
+Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
+digests:
+
+@example
+(standard-digest
+ (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
+ (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
+ (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
+ (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
+ (head-end . "^ ?$")
+ (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
+ (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
+ (subtype digest guess))
+@end example
+
+We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
+text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
+each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
+the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
+run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
+
+To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
+@code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
+the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
+the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
+traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
+type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
+is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
+@code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
+of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
+correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
+low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
+
@node SOUP
@subsection SOUP
and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
fiddly.
+First some terminology:
+
+@table @dfn
+
+@item server
+This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
+get news and/or mail from.
+
+@item home machine
+This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
+on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
+
+@item packet
+Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
+of packets:
+
+@table @dfn
+@item message packets
+These are packets made at the server, and typically contains lots of
+messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
+default, where @var{X} is a number.
+
+@item response packets
+These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
+replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
+default, where @var{X} is a number.
+
+@end table
+
+@end table
+
+
@enumerate
@item
You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
-use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
-packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
+use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
+can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
+s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
@item
You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
You put the packet in your home directory.
@item
-You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
+You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
+the native or secondary server.
@item
You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
-want.
+want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
@item
You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
@node SOUP Commands
@subsubsection SOUP Commands
+These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
+
@table @kbd
@item G s b
@kindex G s b (Group)
@item G s w
@kindex G s w (Group)
@findex gnus-soup-save-areas
-Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
+Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
@item G s s
@kindex G s s (Group)
@findex gnus-soup-add-article
This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
(@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
-convention.
+convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
@end table
@item gnus-soup-replies-directory
@vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
-reply packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/}.
+reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
@item gnus-soup-prefix-file
@vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
In specific, this is what it does:
@lisp
-(setq gnus-inews-article-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
-(setq send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
+(setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
+(setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
@end lisp
And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
@sc{soup}ed you use the second.
+@node Web Searches
+@subsection Web Searches
+@cindex nnweb
+@cindex DejaNews
+@cindex Alta Vista
+@cindex InReference
+@cindex Usenet searches
+@cindex searching the Usenet
+
+It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
+string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
+those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
+the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
+searches without having to use a browser.
+
+The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
+engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
+then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
+group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
+Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
+
+@code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
+groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
+each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
+pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
+manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
+Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
+@code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
+engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
+of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
+header---mark all articles that were posted before the last date you
+read the group as read.
+
+If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
+won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
+providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
+make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
+community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
+might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
+
+You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
+to use @code{nnweb}.
+
+Virtual server variables:
+
+@table @code
+@item nnweb-type
+@vindex nnweb-type
+What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
+are @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
+
+@item nnweb-search
+@vindex nnweb-search
+The search string to feed to the search engine.
+
+@item nnweb-max-hits
+@vindex nnweb-max-hits
+Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
+100.
+
+@item nnweb-type-definition
+@vindex nnweb-type-definition
+Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
+with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
+present:
+
+@table @code
+@item article
+Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
+understands.
+
+@item map
+Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
+
+@item search
+Function to send the search string to the search engine.
+
+@item address
+The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
+to.
+
+@item id
+Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
+@end table
+
+@end table
+
+
+
+@node Mail-To-News Gateways
+@subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
+@cindex mail-to-news gateways
+@cindex gateways
+
+If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
+or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
+The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
+
+Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
+used to post with.
+
+Server variables:
+
+@table @code
+@item nngateway-address
+@vindex nngateway-address
+This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
+
+@item nngateway-header-transformation
+@vindex nngateway-header-transformation
+News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
+for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
+transformation should be called, and defaults to
+@code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
+narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
+gateway address.
+
+This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
+@code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
+@code{Newsgroups} header:
+
+@example
+Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
+@end example
+
+will get this @code{From} header inserted:
+
+@example
+To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
+@end example
+
+@end table
+
+So, to use this, simply say something like:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
+@end lisp
+
+
@node Combined Groups
@section Combined Groups
you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
with useless requests! Oh happiness!
+@kindex G k (Group)
+To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
+buffer.
+
The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
@code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
@code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
* Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
* Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
* Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
-* Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus *knows* what you read.
+* Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
+* Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
* Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
* Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
* Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
* Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
* Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
+* Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
* GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
+* Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
+* Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
@end menu
The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
-some other score file (eg. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
+some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
score file the current one.
General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
(@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
@item V R
-@cindex V R (Summary)
+@kindex V R (Summary)
@findex gnus-summary-rescore
Run the current summary through the scoring process
(@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
@item V F
@kindex V F (Summary)
@findex gnus-score-flush-cache
-Flush the score cahe (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
+Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
after editing score files.
@item V C
Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
-@item V E
-@kindex V E (Summary)
+@item V x
+@kindex V x (Summary)
@findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
-Expunge all articles with a score below the default score (or the
-numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
+Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
+expunge all articles below this score
+(@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
@end table
The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
@vindex gnus-summary-default-score
Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
+@item gnus-summary-expunge-below
+@vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
+Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
+this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
+articles will be hidden.
+
@item gnus-score-over-mark
@vindex gnus-score-over-mark
Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
@item gnus-score-find-bnews
@findex gnus-score-find-bnews
Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
-default. For instance, if the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus},
+default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
@file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
@file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
@samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
+The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
+try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
+files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
+file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
+
@item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
@findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
-can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE} or @file{all.emacs.SCORE},
-but you can have @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and
-@file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
+can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
+@file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
@end table
This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
@table @dfn
@item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
-For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp) as
-well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types and @code{e} and
-@code{E} (exact match) types. If this element is not present, Gnus will
-assume that substring matching should be used. @code{R} and @code{S}
-differ from the other two in that the matches will be done in a
-case-sensitive manner. All these one-letter types are really just
-abbreviations for the @code{regexp}, @code{string} and @code{exact}
-types, which you can use instead, if you feel like.
+For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
+well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
+@code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
+element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
+be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
+that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
+one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
+@code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
+instead, if you feel like.
@item Lines, Chars
These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
-@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
+@code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}. When matching on @code{Lines}, be
+careful because some backends (like @code{nndir}) do not generate
+@code{Lines} header, so every article ends up being marked as having 0
+lines. This can lead to strange results if you happen to lower score of
+the articles with few lines.
@item Date
-For the Date header we have three match types: @code{before}, @code{at}
-and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this ever being useful, but,
-like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide this function. Just in
-case. You never know. Better safe than sorry. Once burnt, twice shy.
-Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have sex on a first date.
+For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
+@code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
+ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
+this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
+Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
+sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
+quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
+
+@cindex ISO8601
+@cindex date
+A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
+date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
+ISO8601 compact format first---@samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}. If you want to
+match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in every year, you
+could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string, for instance.
+(Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so this will
+match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where the article
+was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the whole
+family, eh?)
@item Head, Body, All
These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
header uses.
@item Followup
-This match key will add a score entry on all articles that followup to
-some author. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header uses.
+This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
+@code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
+articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
+you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
+decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
+trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
+uses.
@item Thread
-This match key will add a score entry on all articles that are part of
-a thread. Uses the same match types as the @code{References} header
-uses.
+This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
+key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread that is
+started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
+@samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
+article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
+@samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
+articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
+entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
+complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
+undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread.
@end table
@end enumerate
this one was.
@item exclude-files
-The clue of this entry should be any number of files. This files will
+The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
other.
You can do this with the following two score file entries:
@example
- (orphan -500)
- (mark-and-expunge -100)
+ (orphan -500)
+ (mark-and-expunge -100)
@end example
When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
interesting threads, plus any new threads.
-I.e. -- the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
+I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
ordinary scoring rules.
article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
-@code{t}.
+@code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
+words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
+@code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
+variable to @code{(word line)}.
@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
+If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
+the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
+probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
+adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
+
The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
@code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
@code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
this problem.
+@vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
+As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
+headers. If you adapt on words, the
+@code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
+each instance of a word should add given a mark.
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
+ `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
+ (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
+ (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
+ (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
+@end lisp
+
+This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
+word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
+@code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
+score with 30 points.
+
+@vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
+@vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
+Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
+will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
+@code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
+
+@vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
+When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
+syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
+it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
+
+After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
+@code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
+what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
+
+Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
+likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
+that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
+rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
+
+
+@node Home Score File
+@section Home Score File
+
+The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
+@dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
+for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
+@samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
+
+However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
+a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
+could perhaps use the same home score file.
+
+@vindex gnus-home-score-file
+The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
+be:
+
+@enumerate
+@item
+A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
+groups.
+
+@item
+A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
+file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
+parameter.
+
+@item
+A list. The elements in this list can be:
+
+@enumerate
+@item
+@var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
+the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
+
+@item
+A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
+the home score file.
+
+@item
+A string. Use the string as the home score file.
+@end enumerate
+
+The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
+for matches.
+
+@end enumerate
+
+So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
+@end lisp
+
+If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
+@file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
+@end lisp
+
+This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
+
+If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
+another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
+their own home score files:
+
+@lisp
+(setq gnus-home-score-file
+ ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
+ '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
+ ;; All the comp groups in one score file
+ ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
+@end lisp
+
+@vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
+@code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
+@code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
+is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
+specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
+
+In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
+@code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
+(@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
+Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
+precedence over this variable.
+
@node Followups To Yourself
@section Followups To Yourself
your own article.
@end table
-@vindex gnus-inews-article-hook
+@vindex message-sent-hook
These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
-@code{gnus-inews-article-hook}.
+@code{message-sent-hook}.
+
+If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
+the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
+mine:
+
+@example
+<x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+<x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
+@end example
+
+So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
+exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
+myself:
+
+@lisp
+("references"
+ ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r))
+@end lisp
+
+Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
+is system-dependent.
@node Scoring Tips
or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
files are applicable to which group.
-Say you want to use all score files in the
-@file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory and the single score
-file @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE}:
+Say you want to use the score file
+@file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
+all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
@lisp
(setq gnus-global-score-files
sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
that isn't a very good idea.
-XCNormal kill files look like this:
+Normal kill files look like this:
@lisp
(gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
@end table
+@node Converting Kill Files
+@section Converting Kill Files
+@cindex kill files
+@cindex converting kill files
+
+If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
+score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
+the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
+by hand.
+
+The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
+You can fetch it from
+@file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
+
+If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
+non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
+hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
+before.
+
+
@node GroupLens
@section GroupLens
@cindex GroupLens
projects / gnus / blobdiff