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4 @settitle Red Gnus Manual
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176 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
183 \thispagestyle{empty}
185 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
187 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
188 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
189 are preserved on all copies.
191 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
192 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
193 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
194 permission notice identical to this one.
196 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
197 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
206 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
208 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
210 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
211 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
212 are preserved on all copies.
215 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
216 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
217 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
218 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
221 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
222 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
223 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
224 permission notice identical to this one.
226 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
227 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
233 @title Red Gnus Manual
235 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
238 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
239 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
241 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
242 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
243 are preserved on all copies.
245 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
246 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
247 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
248 permission notice identical to this one.
250 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
251 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
260 @top The Red Gnus Newsreader
264 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
265 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
266 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
274 \thispagestyle{empty}
277 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
278 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
280 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
281 being accused of plagiarism:
283 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
284 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
285 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
286 even read news with it!
288 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
289 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
290 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
291 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
292 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
299 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
300 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
301 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
302 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
303 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
304 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
305 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
306 * Various:: General purpose settings.
307 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
308 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
309 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
310 * Key Index:: Key Index.
316 @chapter Starting Gnus
321 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
322 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
325 @findex gnus-other-frame
326 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
327 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
328 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
330 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
334 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
335 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
336 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
337 * Slave Gnusii:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
338 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
339 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
340 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
341 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
342 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
343 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
344 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
348 @node Finding the News
349 @section Finding the News
351 @vindex gnus-select-method
353 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
354 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
355 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
356 native method. All groups that are not fetched with this method are
359 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
360 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
363 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
366 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
369 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
372 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
373 certainly be much faster.
375 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
377 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
378 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
379 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
380 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
381 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
382 that fails as well, Gnus will will try to use the machine that is
383 running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long-shot, though.
385 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
386 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
387 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
388 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
390 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
391 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
392 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
393 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
394 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
395 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
397 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
399 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
400 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
401 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
402 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
403 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
404 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
406 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
408 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
409 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
410 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
411 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
412 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
413 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
416 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
417 would typically set this variable to
420 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
425 @section The First Time
426 @cindex first time usage
428 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
429 be subscribed by default.
431 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
432 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
433 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
434 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
437 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
438 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is here
439 defined as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
441 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
442 help you with most common problems.
444 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
445 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
449 @node The Server is Down
450 @section The Server is Down
451 @cindex server errors
453 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
454 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
455 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
457 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
458 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
459 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
460 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
461 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
462 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
463 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
465 @findex gnus-no-server
466 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
468 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
469 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
470 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
471 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
472 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
473 1 and 2. (You should preferrably keep no native groups on those two
478 @section Slave Gnusiï
481 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
482 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (eg., if you
483 are using the two different Gnusiï to read from two different servers),
484 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
486 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusiï that use the same
489 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
490 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
491 @dfn{servants}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
492 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
493 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
494 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
495 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
497 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
498 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusiï should be started with
499 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
500 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contains information only
501 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
502 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
503 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
504 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
506 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
507 information in the normal (i. e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
510 @node Fetching a Group
511 @section Fetching a Group
513 @findex gnus-fetch-group
514 It it sometime convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
515 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
516 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
517 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
518 It takes the group name as a parameter.
525 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
526 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
527 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
529 This variable should contain a function. Some handy pre-fab values
534 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
535 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
536 Make all new groups zombies. You can browse the zombies later (with
537 @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly, or subscribe to them.
540 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
541 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
542 Subscribe all new groups randomly.
544 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
545 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
546 Subscribe all new groups alphabetically.
548 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
549 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
550 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
551 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
552 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
553 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
554 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
555 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
556 up. Or something like that.
558 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
559 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
560 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
561 you about @strong{all} new groups.
563 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
564 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
569 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
570 A closely related variable is
571 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
572 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
573 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
574 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
577 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above to
578 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
579 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
581 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
582 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
583 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
586 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
589 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
590 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
591 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
592 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
593 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
594 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
595 subscribing these groups.
596 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
597 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
599 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
600 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
601 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
602 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
603 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
604 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
605 and if the the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
606 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
608 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
609 Yet another variable that meddles here is
610 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
611 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
612 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
613 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
614 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
615 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
616 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
617 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
619 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
620 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
621 you could set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
622 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
623 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
624 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
625 is @code{t} by default.
627 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
628 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
629 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
630 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
631 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster &
632 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
633 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
634 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
635 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
636 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
638 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
639 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
640 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
641 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
642 few days. If any do, then it works. If any don't, then it doesn't
643 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
644 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
645 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
646 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
647 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
648 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
650 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
651 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
652 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
653 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
654 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
655 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
658 @node Changing Servers
659 @section Changing Servers
661 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
662 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
663 very flake and you want to use another.
665 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
666 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
670 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
671 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
672 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
673 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
676 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
677 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
678 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
679 functions more than absolutely necessary.
681 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
682 @findex gnus-change-server
683 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
684 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map
685 reads and article marks. The @kbd{M-x gnus-change-server} command will
686 do this for all your native groups. It will prompt for the method you
689 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
690 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
691 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
692 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
693 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
695 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
696 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
697 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
698 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
699 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
700 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
704 @section Startup Files
705 @cindex startup files
708 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
709 information is traditionally stored in this file.
711 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
712 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
713 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
714 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
715 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
716 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
717 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
719 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
720 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
721 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
722 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file.
724 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
725 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
726 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
727 the file and save some space, as well as making exit from Gnus faster.
728 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
729 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
731 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
732 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
733 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
734 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
735 will also means that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
736 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
737 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
738 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
739 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
740 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
741 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
742 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
744 @vindex gnus-startup-file
745 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
746 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
747 file being whatever that one is with a @samp{.eld} appended.
749 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
750 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
751 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
752 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
753 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
754 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
755 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
756 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
757 control on or off. Version control is off by default when saving the
760 @vindex gnus-init-file
761 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file} (default
762 @file{.../site-lisp/gnus.el}) and @code{gnus-init-file} (default
763 @file{~/.gnus.el}) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files and can be
764 used to avoid cluttering your @file{.emacs} and @file{site-init} files
773 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
774 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
775 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
776 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
777 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
780 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
781 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
784 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
785 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
786 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
788 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
789 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
790 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
791 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
792 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
793 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
796 @node The Active File
797 @section The Active File
799 @cindex ignored groups
801 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
802 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
803 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
805 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
806 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
807 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
808 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
809 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
810 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
811 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
814 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
815 @c if you set it to anything else.
817 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
819 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
820 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
821 reading the active file. This variable is @code{t} by default.
823 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
824 you actually subscribe to.
826 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
827 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
828 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
829 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
831 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
832 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
833 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
834 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
835 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
836 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
838 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
839 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
840 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
841 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
842 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
843 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
845 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
846 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
849 @node Startup Variables
850 @section Startup Variables
855 @vindex gnus-load-hook
856 A hook that is run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
857 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
858 times you start Gnus.
860 @item gnus-startup-hook
861 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
862 A hook that is run after starting up Gnus successfully.
864 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
865 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
866 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
867 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
868 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
869 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
870 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
871 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
873 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
874 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
875 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
876 your boss might not notice that you are reading news instead of doing
879 @item gnus-no-groups-message
880 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
881 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
885 @node The Group Buffer
886 @chapter The Group Buffer
889 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
890 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
891 long as Gnus is active.
894 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
895 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
896 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
897 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
898 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
899 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
900 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
901 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
902 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
903 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
904 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
905 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
906 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
907 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
908 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
909 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
913 @node Group Buffer Format
914 @section Group Buffer Format
915 @cindex group buffer format
918 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
919 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
920 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
924 @node Group Line Specification
925 @subsection Group Line Specification
927 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
928 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
930 Here's a couple of example group lines:
933 25: news.announce.newusers
934 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
939 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
940 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
941 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
942 asterisk at the beginning of the line?)
944 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
945 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
946 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
947 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
948 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
949 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
951 The default value that produced those lines above is
952 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n}.
954 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
955 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
956 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
957 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
960 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
961 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
962 instead of wasting time reading news.)
964 Here's a list of all available format characters:
969 Only marked articles.
972 Whether the group is subscribed.
975 Level of subscribedness.
978 Number of unread articles.
981 Number of dormant articles.
984 Number of ticked articles.
987 Number of read articles.
990 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
991 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
994 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
997 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1006 Newsgroup description.
1009 @samp{m} if moderated.
1012 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1021 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1025 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1028 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1029 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1030 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1031 The default is @code{1}.
1034 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1035 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
1036 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1037 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current headers as
1038 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
1039 into the buffer just like information from any other specifier.
1043 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1044 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1045 group, or a bogus (or semi-bogus) native group.
1048 @node Group Modeline Specification
1049 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1051 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1052 The mode line can be changed by setting
1053 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). It
1054 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1058 The native news server.
1060 The native select method.
1064 @node Group Highlighting
1065 @subsection Group Highlighting
1067 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1068 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1069 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1070 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1071 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1073 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1077 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1079 ,(custom-face-lookup "Red" nil nil t nil nil))
1080 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) .
1081 ,(custom-face-lookup "SeaGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1083 ,(custom-face-lookup "SpringGreen" nil nil t nil nil))
1085 ,(custom-face-lookup "SteelBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1087 ,(custom-face-lookup "SkyBlue" nil nil t nil nil))
1091 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1098 The number of unread articles in the group.
1102 Whether the group is a mail group.
1104 The level of the group.
1106 The score of the group.
1108 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1110 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1113 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1114 topic being inserted.
1117 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1118 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1119 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1121 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1122 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1123 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1124 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1125 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1128 @node Group Maneuvering
1129 @section Group Maneuvering
1130 @cindex group movement
1132 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1133 expected, hopefully.
1139 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1140 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1141 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1148 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1149 Go to the previous group group that has unread articles
1150 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1154 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1155 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1159 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1160 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1164 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1165 Go to the next unread group on the same level (or lower)
1166 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1170 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1171 Go to the previous unread group on the same level (or lower)
1172 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1175 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1181 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1182 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1183 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1188 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1189 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1190 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1194 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1195 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1196 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1199 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1200 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1201 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1202 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1206 @node Selecting a Group
1207 @section Selecting a Group
1208 @cindex group selection
1213 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1214 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1215 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1216 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1217 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1218 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1219 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, Gnus
1220 will fetch @var{N} number of articles. If @var{N} is positive, fetch
1221 the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is negative, fetch the
1222 @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1226 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1227 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1228 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1229 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1230 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1234 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1235 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1236 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1237 minimum amount off fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1238 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1239 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1240 enter some humongous group.
1243 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1244 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1245 This is yet one more command that does the same as the one above, but
1246 this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1247 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1251 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1252 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1253 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1254 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1255 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is when catching up a group from
1260 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1261 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1262 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1266 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1267 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1268 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1270 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1271 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1272 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1273 If you have switced from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1274 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1275 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1280 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1281 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1282 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1283 unread articles than this, Gnus will query the user before entering the
1284 group. The user can then specify how many articles should be fetched
1285 from the server. If the user specifies a negative number (@code{-n}),
1286 the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it is positive, the
1287 @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will be fetched.
1289 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1290 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1291 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1292 automatically when entering a group.
1297 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1298 full summary buffer.
1301 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1304 Select the most high-scored article in the group when entering the
1308 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1309 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1310 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1314 @node Subscription Commands
1315 @section Subscription Commands
1324 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1325 Toggle subscription to the current group
1326 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1332 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1333 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1334 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1335 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1341 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1342 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1348 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1349 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1352 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1353 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1354 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1355 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1356 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1362 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1363 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1367 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1368 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1371 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1372 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1373 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1374 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1375 be used with some caution. The only thing where this command comes in
1376 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1377 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level @code{7} will
1378 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1379 @file{.newsrc} file.
1383 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1387 @section Group Levels
1390 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1391 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1392 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1393 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1394 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1396 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1402 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1403 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1404 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1405 prompted for a level.
1408 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1409 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1410 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1411 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1412 Gnus considers groups on between levels 1 and
1413 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1414 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1415 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1416 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1417 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (default 9),
1418 completely dead. Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly
1419 the same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what
1420 articles you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and
1421 living groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely
1422 for reasons of efficiency.
1424 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1425 low levels (eg. 1 or 2).
1427 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1428 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1429 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1431 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1432 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1433 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1434 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1435 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1436 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1437 relevant legal ranges.
1439 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1440 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1441 will only move to groups that are of the same level (or lower). In
1442 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1443 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1444 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1447 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1448 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1449 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1452 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1453 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1454 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1455 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1458 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1459 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1460 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1461 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1463 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1464 Gnus will normally just activate groups that are on level
1465 @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to activate
1466 unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable to
1471 @section Group Score
1474 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1475 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1476 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1479 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1480 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1481 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1482 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1483 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1484 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1485 part and the score is the least significant part.)
1487 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1488 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1489 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1490 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1491 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1492 action after each summary exit, you can add
1493 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1494 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1495 slow things down somewhat.
1498 @node Marking Groups
1499 @section Marking Groups
1500 @cindex marking groups
1502 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1503 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1504 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1505 bidding on those groups.
1507 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1508 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1509 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1517 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1518 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1524 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1525 Remove the mark from the current group
1526 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1530 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1531 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1535 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1536 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1540 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1541 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1545 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1546 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1547 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1550 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1552 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1553 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1554 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1555 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1556 the command to be executed.
1559 @node Foreign Groups
1560 @section Foreign Groups
1562 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1563 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1564 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1565 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1572 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1573 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1574 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1575 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1579 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1580 Rename the current group to something else
1581 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is legal only on some
1582 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1587 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1588 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1589 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1593 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1594 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1595 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1599 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1600 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1601 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1605 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1606 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1607 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1611 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1612 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1616 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1617 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1618 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1619 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1620 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1621 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1622 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1626 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1627 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1628 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1629 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1630 @xref{Kibozed Groups}
1634 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1635 Read an arbitrary directory as if with were a newsgroup with the
1636 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1637 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1641 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1642 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1643 Make a group based on some file or other
1644 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1645 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1646 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1647 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs}, and
1648 @code{forward}. If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will
1649 guess at the file type. @xref{Document Groups}.
1653 @findex gnus-group-make-dejagnus-group
1655 Make an ephemeral group based on a DejaNews search
1656 (@code{gnus-group-make-dejagnus-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1657 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1658 search. @xref{DejaNews Searches}.
1661 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1662 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1663 This function will delete the current group
1664 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1665 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1666 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1667 absolutely sure of what you are doing.
1671 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1672 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1673 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1677 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1678 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1679 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1682 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1685 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1686 If the @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1687 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1688 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1689 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers.
1692 @node Group Parameters
1693 @section Group Parameters
1694 @cindex group parameters
1696 Gnus stores all information on a group in a list that is usually known
1697 as the @dfn{group info}. This list has from three to six elements.
1698 Here's an example info.
1701 ("nnml:mail.ding" 3 ((1 . 232) 244 (256 . 270)) ((tick 246 249))
1702 (nnml "private") ((to-address . "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
1705 The first element is the @dfn{group name}, as Gnus knows the group,
1706 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
1707 normally is a small integer. The third element is a list of ranges of
1708 read articles. The fourth element is a list of lists of article marks
1709 of various kinds. The fifth element is the select method (or virtual
1710 server, if you like). The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group
1711 parameters}, which is what this section is about.
1713 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
1714 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
1715 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
1717 The group parameters store information local to a particular group:
1722 If the group parameter list contains an element that looks like
1723 @code{(to-address . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used by
1724 the backend when doing followups and posts. This is primarily useful in
1725 mail groups that represent closed mailing lists---mailing lists where
1726 it's expected that everybody that writes to the mailing list is
1727 subscribed to it. Since using this parameter ensures that the mail only
1728 goes to the mailing list itself, it means that members won't receive two
1729 copies of your followups.
1731 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1732 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1733 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1734 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1735 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1736 list address instead.
1740 If the group parameter list has an element that looks like
1741 @code{(to-list . "some@@where.com")}, that address will be used when
1742 doing a @kbd{a} in any group. It is totally ignored when doing a
1743 followup---except that if it is present in a news group, you'll get mail
1744 group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
1746 @item broken-reply-to
1747 @cindex broken-reply-to
1748 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
1749 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
1750 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
1751 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
1752 broken behavior. So there!
1756 If the group parameter list contains an element like @code{(to-group
1757 . "some.group.name")}, all posts will be sent to that group.
1761 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, new composed
1762 messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group.
1766 If this symbol is present in the group parameter list, all articles that
1767 are read will be marked as expirable. For an alternative approach,
1768 @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
1771 @cindex total-expire
1772 If this symbol is present, all read articles will be put through the
1773 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
1778 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
1779 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
1780 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
1781 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
1782 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
1783 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
1786 @cindex score file group parameter
1787 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
1788 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. This
1789 means that all score commands you issue will end up in that file.
1792 @cindex adapt file group parameter
1793 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
1794 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
1795 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
1798 When unsubscribing to a mailing list you should never send the
1799 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
1800 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
1801 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
1804 This parameter allows you to enter a arbitrary comment on the group.
1806 @item @var{(variable form)}
1807 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
1808 are entering. Say you want to turn threading off in
1809 @samp{news.answers}. You'd then put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in
1810 the group parameters of that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be
1811 made into a local variable in the summary buffer you enter, and the form
1812 @code{nil} will be @code{eval}ed there.
1814 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
1815 If you want to hear a beep when you enter the group
1816 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, you could put something like
1817 @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that group.
1818 @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the @code{(ding)}
1819 form, but who cares?
1823 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group.
1825 Also @xref{Topic Parameters}.
1828 @node Listing Groups
1829 @section Listing Groups
1830 @cindex group listing
1832 These commands all list various slices of the groups that are available.
1840 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
1841 List all groups that have unread articles
1842 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
1843 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
1844 only lists groups of level five or lower (i.e., just subscribed groups).
1850 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
1851 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
1852 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
1853 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
1854 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
1855 unsubscribed groups).
1859 @findex gnus-group-list-level
1860 List all unread groups on a specific level
1861 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
1862 with no unread articles.
1866 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
1867 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
1868 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
1869 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
1874 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
1875 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
1879 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
1880 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
1881 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
1885 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
1886 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
1890 @findex gnus-group-list-active
1891 List absolutely all groups that are in the active file(s) of the
1892 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
1893 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
1894 to do a @kbd{A m} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
1895 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list group that
1896 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they are killed groups.
1897 Take the output with some grains of salt.
1901 @findex gnus-group-apropos
1902 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
1903 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
1907 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
1908 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
1909 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
1913 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
1914 @cindex visible group parameter
1915 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
1916 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
1917 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
1918 get the same effect.
1920 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
1921 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
1922 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
1923 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
1924 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
1927 @node Sorting Groups
1928 @section Sorting Groups
1929 @cindex sorting groups
1931 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
1932 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
1933 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
1934 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
1935 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
1936 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
1941 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1942 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
1943 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
1945 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
1946 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
1947 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
1949 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
1950 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
1951 Sort by group level.
1953 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
1954 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
1955 Sort by group score.
1957 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1958 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
1959 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
1960 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}.
1962 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1963 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
1964 Sort by number of unread articles.
1966 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
1967 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
1968 Sort by alphabetically on the select method.
1973 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
1974 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
1978 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
1979 some sorting criteria:
1983 @kindex G S a (Group)
1984 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
1985 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
1986 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
1989 @kindex G S u (Group)
1990 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
1991 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
1992 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
1995 @kindex G S l (Group)
1996 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
1997 Sort the group buffer by group level
1998 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2001 @kindex G S v (Group)
2002 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2003 Sort the group buffer by group score
2004 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}).
2007 @kindex G S r (Group)
2008 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2009 Sort the group buffer by group level
2010 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}).
2013 @kindex G S m (Group)
2014 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2015 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2016 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2020 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2023 @node Group Maintenance
2024 @section Group Maintenance
2025 @cindex bogus groups
2030 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2031 Find bogus groups and delete them
2032 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2036 @findex gnus-find-new-newsgroups
2037 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-find-new-newsgroups}). If
2038 given a prefix, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server for
2042 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2043 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2044 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2045 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2048 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2049 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2050 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2051 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2056 @node Browse Foreign Server
2057 @section Browse Foreign Server
2058 @cindex foreign servers
2059 @cindex browsing servers
2064 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2065 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2066 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2067 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2070 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2071 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2072 will be use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit
2073 (well, a lot) like a normal group buffer, but with one major difference
2074 - you can't enter any of the groups. If you want to read any of the
2075 news available on that server, you have to subscribe to the groups you
2076 think may be interesting, and then you have to exit this buffer. The
2077 new groups will be added to the group buffer, and then you can read them
2078 as you would any other group.
2080 Future versions of Gnus may possibly permit reading groups straight from
2083 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2088 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2089 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2093 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2094 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2097 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2098 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2099 Enter the current group and display the first article
2100 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2103 @kindex RET (Browse)
2104 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2105 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2109 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2110 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2111 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2117 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2118 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2122 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2123 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2124 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2129 @section Exiting Gnus
2130 @cindex exiting Gnus
2132 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2137 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2138 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2139 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2140 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2144 @findex gnus-group-exit
2145 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2149 @findex gnus-group-quit
2150 Quit Gnus without saving any startup files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2153 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2154 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2155 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2156 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2157 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2162 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2163 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2164 trying to customize meta-variables.
2169 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, feels her feet go
2170 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2171 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2177 @section Group Topics
2180 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2181 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2182 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2183 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2184 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2185 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2187 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2189 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2190 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2191 is a toggling command.)
2193 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2194 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2195 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2196 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2199 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2200 the hook for the group mode:
2203 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2207 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2208 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2209 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2210 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2214 @node Topic Variables
2215 @subsection Topic Variables
2216 @cindex topic variables
2218 Now, if you select a topic, if will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2219 really neat, I think.
2221 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2222 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2223 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2236 Number of groups in the topic.
2238 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2240 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2243 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2244 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2245 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2246 The default is @code{2}.
2248 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2249 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2252 @node Topic Commands
2253 @subsection Topic Commands
2254 @cindex topic commands
2256 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2257 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2258 definitions slightly.
2264 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2265 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2266 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2270 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2271 Move the current group to some other topic
2272 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command understands the
2273 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2277 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2278 Copy the current group to some other topic
2279 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command understands the
2280 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2284 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2285 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2286 This command understands the process/prefix convention
2287 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2291 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2292 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2293 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2297 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2298 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2299 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2303 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2304 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2305 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2308 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2309 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2310 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2311 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2315 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2317 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2318 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2319 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2320 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2321 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2322 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2325 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2326 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2327 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2328 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2329 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2333 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2334 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}).
2338 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2339 Yank the previously killed group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}).
2340 Note that all topics will be yanked before all groups.
2344 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2345 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2348 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2349 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2350 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2354 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2355 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2356 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2360 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2361 @cindex group parameters
2362 @cindex topic parameters
2364 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2365 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2370 @node Topic Topology
2371 @subsection Topic Topology
2372 @cindex topic topology
2375 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2381 2: alt.religion.emacs
2384 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2386 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2387 13: comp.sources.unix
2390 So, here we have one top-level topic, two topics under that, and one
2391 sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always just one (1)
2392 top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as follows:
2396 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2397 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2401 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2402 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2403 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2404 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2405 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2406 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2408 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2409 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2410 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2413 @node Topic Parameters
2414 @subsection Topic Parameters
2416 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2417 ancestor) topic parameters. All legal group parameters are legal topic
2418 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2420 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2421 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2422 know. Normal inheretance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2423 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2429 2: alt.religion.emacs
2433 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2435 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2436 13: comp.sources.unix
2440 Now, the @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter
2441 @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic
2442 parameter @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc}
2443 topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In
2444 addition, @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter
2445 @code{(score-file . "religion.SCORE")}.
2447 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2448 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2449 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2450 score file. If you enter @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll get the
2451 @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2453 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2454 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2455 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2456 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2457 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2458 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2459 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2460 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2463 @node Misc Group Stuff
2464 @section Misc Group Stuff
2467 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2468 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2469 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2476 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2477 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}). @xref{The
2482 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2483 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). The current
2484 group name will be used as the default.
2488 @findex gnus-group-mail
2489 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2493 Variables for the group buffer:
2497 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2498 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2499 @code{gnus-group-mode-hook} is called after the group buffer has been
2502 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2503 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2504 @code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} is called after the group buffer is
2505 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2508 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2509 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2510 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2511 whether they are empty or not.
2516 @node Scanning New Messages
2517 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2518 @cindex new messages
2519 @cindex scanning new news
2525 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2526 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2527 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2528 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2529 command will force a total rereading of the active file(s) from the
2534 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2535 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2536 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
2537 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}). The
2538 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} variable controls whether
2539 this command is to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t}
2542 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
2543 @cindex activating groups
2545 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
2546 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
2551 @findex gnus-group-restart
2552 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}).
2556 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
2557 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
2559 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
2560 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
2564 @node Group Information
2565 @subsection Group Information
2566 @cindex group information
2567 @cindex information on groups
2573 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
2576 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
2577 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
2578 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
2579 remote machine. @code{ange-ftp} will be used for fetching the file.
2583 @cindex describing groups
2584 @cindex group description
2585 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
2586 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
2587 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
2591 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
2592 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
2593 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
2598 @findex gnus-version
2599 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
2603 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
2604 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
2607 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
2610 @findex gnus-info-find-node
2611 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
2616 @subsection File Commands
2617 @cindex file commands
2623 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
2624 @vindex gnus-init-file
2625 @cindex reading init file
2626 Read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
2627 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
2631 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
2632 @cindex saving .newsrc
2633 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
2634 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
2635 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
2638 @c @kindex Z (Group)
2639 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
2640 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
2645 @node The Summary Buffer
2646 @chapter The Summary Buffer
2647 @cindex summary buffer
2649 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
2650 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
2653 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
2654 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
2655 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
2656 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
2657 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
2658 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
2659 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
2660 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
2661 * Threading:: How threads are made.
2662 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
2663 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
2664 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
2665 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
2666 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
2667 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
2668 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
2669 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
2670 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
2671 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
2672 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
2673 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
2674 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
2675 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
2676 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
2677 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
2678 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
2682 @node Summary Buffer Format
2683 @section Summary Buffer Format
2684 @cindex summary buffer format
2687 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
2688 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
2689 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
2692 @findex mail-extract-address-components
2693 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
2694 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
2695 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
2696 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
2697 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined function exist:
2698 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
2699 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
2700 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
2701 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
2702 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead.
2704 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
2705 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
2706 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
2707 with those specs that require it. The default is @samp{}.
2710 @node Summary Buffer Lines
2711 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
2713 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
2714 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
2715 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
2716 lines a a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
2717 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2719 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
2721 The following format specification characters are understood:
2729 Subject if the article is the root or the previous article had a
2730 different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
2731 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @samp{}.)
2733 Full @code{From} header.
2735 The name (from the @code{From} header).
2737 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
2738 spec in that it uses @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is
2739 slower, but may be more thorough.
2741 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
2744 Number of lines in the article.
2746 Number of characters in the article.
2748 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2750 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
2751 pushes everything after it off the screen).
2753 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{\[}, but can also be @samp{<}
2754 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
2756 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{\]}, but can also be @samp{>}
2757 for adopted articles.
2759 One space for each thread level.
2761 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
2769 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
2770 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
2771 default level. If the difference between
2772 @code{gnus-summary-default-level} and the score is less than
2773 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
2781 The @code{Date} in @code{YY-MMM} format.
2783 The @code{Date} in @code{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS} format.
2789 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
2790 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
2792 A single character will be displayed if the article has any children.
2796 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
2797 be a letter. @sc{gnus} will call the function
2798 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
2799 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
2800 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
2801 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
2804 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
2805 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
2806 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
2807 that. This means that it is illegal to have these specs after a
2808 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
2809 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
2811 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
2812 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
2814 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
2817 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
2818 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
2820 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
2821 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar. Set
2822 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you like. Here are the
2823 elements you can play with:
2829 Unprefixed group name.
2831 Current article number.
2835 Number of unread articles in this group.
2837 Number of unselected articles in this group.
2839 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
2840 either as @samp{<%U(+%u) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
2841 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
2842 and no unselected ones.
2844 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
2845 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
2847 Subject of the current article.
2851 Name of the current score file.
2853 Number of dormant articles.
2855 Number of ticked articles.
2857 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
2859 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
2863 @node Summary Highlighting
2864 @subsection Summary Highlighting
2868 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2869 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
2870 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
2871 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
2872 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2874 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
2875 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
2876 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
2877 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
2879 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
2880 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
2881 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) that is used to
2882 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
2884 @item gnus-summary-highlight
2885 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
2886 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
2887 list where the elements are on the format @code{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
2888 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
2889 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
2891 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
2892 ((> score default) . bold))
2894 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
2895 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
2899 @node Summary Maneuvering
2900 @section Summary Maneuvering
2901 @cindex summary movement
2903 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
2904 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
2906 None of these commands select articles.
2911 @kindex M-n (Summary)
2912 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
2913 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
2914 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
2915 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
2919 @kindex M-p (Summary)
2920 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
2921 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
2922 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
2923 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
2928 @kindex G j (Summary)
2929 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
2930 Ask for an article number and then go that article
2931 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
2934 @kindex G g (Summary)
2935 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
2936 Ask for an article number and then go the summary line of that article
2937 (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
2940 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
2941 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
2942 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
2943 to the group buffer.
2945 Variables related to summary movement:
2949 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
2950 @item gnus-auto-select-next
2951 If you are at the end of the group and issue one of the movement
2952 commands, Gnus will offer to go to the next group. If this variable is
2953 @code{t} and the next group is empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and
2954 return to the group buffer. If this variable is neither @code{t} nor
2955 @code{nil}, Gnus will select the next group, no matter whether it has
2956 any unread articles or not. As a special case, if this variable is
2957 @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the next group without asking for
2958 confirmation. If this variable is @code{almost-quietly}, the same will
2959 happen only if you are located on the last article in the group.
2960 Finally, if this variable is @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n}
2961 command will go to the next group without confirmation. Also
2962 @pxref{Group Levels}.
2964 @item gnus-auto-select-same
2965 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
2966 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
2967 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
2968 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
2969 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) This variable is not
2970 particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
2972 @item gnus-summary-check-current
2973 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
2974 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
2975 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
2976 Instead, they will choose the current article.
2978 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
2979 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
2980 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
2981 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
2982 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
2983 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
2984 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
2985 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
2991 @node Choosing Articles
2992 @section Choosing Articles
2993 @cindex selecting articles
2995 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
2996 and they all select and display an article.
3000 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3001 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3002 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3003 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3008 @kindex G n (Summary)
3009 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3010 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3015 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3016 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3021 @kindex G N (Summary)
3022 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3023 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3028 @kindex G P (Summary)
3029 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3030 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3033 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3034 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3035 Go to the next article with the same subject
3036 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3039 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3040 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3041 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3042 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3046 @kindex G f (Summary)
3048 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3049 Go to the first unread article
3050 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3054 @kindex G b (Summary)
3056 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3057 Go to the article with the highest score
3058 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3063 @kindex G l (Summary)
3064 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3065 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3068 @kindex G p (Summary)
3069 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3070 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3071 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3072 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3073 history as you like.
3076 Some variables that are relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3079 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3080 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3081 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3082 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3083 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3084 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3086 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3087 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3088 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3089 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3091 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3092 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3093 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3094 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3095 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3096 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3097 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3098 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3099 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3100 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3101 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3102 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3103 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3104 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3109 @node Paging the Article
3110 @section Scrolling the Article
3111 @cindex article scrolling
3116 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3117 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3118 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3119 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3120 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3123 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3124 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3125 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3128 @kindex RET (Summary)
3129 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3130 Scroll the current article one line forward
3131 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3135 @kindex A g (Summary)
3137 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3138 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3139 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3140 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3141 the way it came from the server.
3146 @kindex A < (Summary)
3147 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3148 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3149 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3154 @kindex A > (Summary)
3155 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3156 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3159 @kindex A s (Summary)
3160 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3161 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3162 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3167 @node Reply Followup and Post
3168 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3171 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3172 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3176 @node Summary Mail Commands
3177 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3179 @cindex composing mail
3181 Commands for composing a mail message:
3187 @kindex S r (Summary)
3189 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3190 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3191 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3196 @kindex S R (Summary)
3197 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3198 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3199 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3200 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3203 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3204 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3205 Forward the current article to some other person
3206 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}).
3209 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3210 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3211 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3212 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
3217 @kindex S m (Summary)
3218 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3219 Send a mail to some other person
3220 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3223 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3224 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3225 @cindex bouncing mail
3226 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3227 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3228 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3229 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3230 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3231 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3232 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3233 very well fail, though.
3236 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3237 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3238 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3239 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3240 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3241 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3242 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3243 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3244 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3245 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3247 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3248 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3249 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3250 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3251 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muss sein!
3254 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3255 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3256 Digest the current series and forward the result using mail
3257 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3258 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3261 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3262 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3263 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3264 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}).
3267 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3268 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3269 @cindex crossposting
3270 @cindex excessive crossposting
3271 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3272 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3274 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3275 This command is provided as a way to fight back agains the current
3276 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3277 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3278 command understands the process/prefix convention
3279 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3284 @node Summary Post Commands
3285 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3287 @cindex composing news
3289 Commands for posting an article:
3295 @kindex S p (Summary)
3296 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3297 Post an article to the current group
3298 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3303 @kindex S f (Summary)
3304 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3305 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3309 @kindex S F (Summary)
3311 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3312 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3313 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3314 process/prefix convention.
3317 @kindex S u (Summary)
3318 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3319 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3320 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3324 @node Canceling and Superseding
3325 @section Canceling Articles
3326 @cindex canceling articles
3327 @cindex superseding articles
3329 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3330 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3332 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3334 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3336 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3337 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3338 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3339 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3341 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3342 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3345 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3346 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3347 your original article.
3349 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3351 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3352 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3353 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3356 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3357 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3358 have posted almost the same article twice.
3360 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3361 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3362 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3363 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*post-buf*}). There you will
3364 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3365 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3366 header by substituting one of those words for @code{Message-ID}. Then
3367 just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as you would do normally.
3368 The previous article will be canceled/superseded.
3370 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
3373 @node Marking Articles
3374 @section Marking Articles
3375 @cindex article marking
3376 @cindex article ticking
3379 There are several marks you can set on an article.
3381 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
3382 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
3383 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
3385 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
3388 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
3389 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
3390 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
3394 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
3398 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
3399 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
3403 @node Unread Articles
3404 @subsection Unread Articles
3406 The following marks mark articles as unread, in one form or other.
3408 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3409 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
3412 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
3413 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
3414 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
3415 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
3416 article forever, you'll have to save it. Ticked articles have a
3417 @samp{!} (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}) in the first column.
3420 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
3421 A @dfn{dormant} article is marked with a @samp{?}
3422 (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}), and will only appear in the summary buffer
3423 if there are followups to it.
3426 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
3427 An @dfn{unread} article is marked with a @samp{SPACE}
3428 (@code{gnus-unread-mark}). These are articles that haven't been read at
3434 @subsection Read Articles
3435 @cindex expirable mark
3437 All the following marks mark articles as read.
3442 @vindex gnus-del-mark
3443 Articles that are marked as read. They have a @samp{r}
3444 (@code{gnus-del-mark}) in the first column. These are articles that the
3445 user has marked as read more or less manually.
3448 @vindex gnus-read-mark
3449 Articles that are actually read are marked with @samp{R}
3450 (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
3453 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
3454 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions are now
3455 @dfn{old} and marked with @samp{O} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
3458 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
3459 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
3462 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
3463 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
3466 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
3467 Marked as read by having a too low score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
3470 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
3471 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
3474 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
3475 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
3478 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
3479 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}
3482 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
3483 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
3487 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
3488 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
3489 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}
3493 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
3494 They are interpreted differently by the adaptive scoring scheme,
3497 One more special mark, though:
3501 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
3502 You can also mark articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as
3503 such automatically). That doesn't make much sense in normal groups,
3504 because a user does not control the expiring of news articles, but in
3505 mail groups, for instance, articles that are marked as @dfn{expirable}
3506 can be deleted by Gnus at any time. Expirable articles are marked with
3507 @samp{E} (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
3512 @subsection Other Marks
3513 @cindex process mark
3516 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
3522 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
3523 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
3524 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
3525 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
3526 encounters the article.
3529 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
3530 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
3531 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
3532 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
3535 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
3536 Articles that are stored in the article cache will be marked with an
3537 @samp{*} in the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}).
3540 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
3541 Articles that are ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
3542 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
3543 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}.
3546 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
3547 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
3548 It the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
3549 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
3550 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
3553 @vindex gnus-process-mark
3554 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}. A
3555 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
3556 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
3557 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
3558 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
3562 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
3563 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
3564 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
3566 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
3567 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
3568 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
3572 @subsection Setting Marks
3573 @cindex setting marks
3575 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
3581 @kindex M t (Summary)
3582 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
3583 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
3588 @kindex M ? (Summary)
3589 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
3590 Mark the current article as dormant
3591 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}).
3595 @kindex M d (Summary)
3597 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
3598 Mark the current article as read
3599 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
3603 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
3604 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
3605 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
3610 @kindex M k (Summary)
3611 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
3612 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
3613 and then select the next unread article
3614 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
3618 @kindex M K (Summary)
3619 @kindex C-k (Summary)
3620 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
3621 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
3622 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
3625 @kindex M C (Summary)
3626 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
3627 Mark all unread articles in the group as read
3628 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
3631 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
3632 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
3633 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
3634 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
3637 @kindex M H (Summary)
3638 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
3639 Catchup the current group to point
3640 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
3643 @kindex C-w (Summary)
3644 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
3645 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
3646 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
3649 @kindex M V k (Summary)
3650 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
3651 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
3652 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
3656 @kindex M c (Summary)
3657 @kindex M-u (Summary)
3658 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
3659 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
3660 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}).
3664 @kindex M e (Summary)
3666 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
3667 Mark the current article as expirable
3668 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
3671 @kindex M b (Summary)
3672 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
3673 Set a bookmark in the current article
3674 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
3677 @kindex M B (Summary)
3678 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
3679 Remove the bookmark from the current article
3680 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
3683 @kindex M V c (Summary)
3684 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
3685 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
3686 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3689 @kindex M V u (Summary)
3690 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
3691 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
3692 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
3695 @kindex M V m (Summary)
3696 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
3697 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
3698 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
3699 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
3702 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
3703 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
3704 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
3705 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
3706 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
3707 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
3708 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
3709 The default is @code{t}.
3712 @node Setting Process Marks
3713 @subsection Setting Process Marks
3714 @cindex setting process marks
3721 @kindex M P p (Summary)
3722 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
3723 Mark the current article with the process mark
3724 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
3725 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
3729 @kindex M P u (Summary)
3730 @kindex M-# (Summary)
3731 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
3732 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
3735 @kindex M P U (Summary)
3736 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
3737 Remove the process mark from all articles
3738 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
3741 @kindex M P R (Summary)
3742 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
3743 Mark articles by a regular expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
3746 @kindex M P r (Summary)
3747 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
3748 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
3751 @kindex M P t (Summary)
3752 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
3753 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3754 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
3757 @kindex M P T (Summary)
3758 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
3759 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
3760 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
3763 @kindex M P v (Summary)
3764 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
3765 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
3766 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
3769 @kindex M P s (Summary)
3770 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
3771 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3774 @kindex M P S (Summary)
3775 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
3776 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
3777 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
3780 @kindex M P a (Summary)
3781 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
3782 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
3785 @kindex M P b (Summary)
3786 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
3787 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
3788 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
3791 @kindex M P k (Summary)
3792 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
3793 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
3794 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
3797 @kindex M P y (Summary)
3798 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
3799 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
3800 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
3803 @kindex M P w (Summary)
3804 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
3805 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
3806 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
3815 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
3816 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
3817 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
3824 @kindex / / (Summary)
3825 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
3826 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
3827 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
3830 @kindex / a (Summary)
3831 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
3832 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
3833 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
3837 @kindex / u (Summary)
3839 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
3840 Limit the summary buffer to articles that are not marked as read
3841 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
3842 buffer to articles that are strictly unread. This means that ticked and
3843 dormant articles will also be excluded.
3846 @kindex / m (Summary)
3847 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
3848 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have not been marked
3849 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
3852 @kindex / n (Summary)
3853 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
3854 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
3855 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
3856 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3859 @kindex / w (Summary)
3860 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
3861 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
3862 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
3866 @kindex / v (Summary)
3867 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
3868 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
3869 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
3873 @kindex M S (Summary)
3874 @kindex / E (Summary)
3875 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
3876 Display all expunged articles
3877 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
3880 @kindex / D (Summary)
3881 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
3882 Display all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
3885 @kindex / d (Summary)
3886 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
3887 Hide all dormant articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
3890 @kindex / c (Summary)
3891 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
3892 Hide all dormant articles that have no children
3893 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
3896 @kindex / C (Summary)
3897 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
3898 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
3899 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
3900 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
3908 @cindex article threading
3910 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put replies to
3911 articles directly after the articles they reply to---in a hierarchical
3915 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
3916 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
3920 @node Customizing Threading
3921 @subsection Customizing Threading
3922 @cindex customizing threading
3928 @item gnus-show-threads
3929 @vindex gnus-show-threads
3930 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
3931 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
3932 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
3933 slower and more awkward.
3935 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
3936 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
3937 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
3938 more old headers---headers to articles that are marked as read. If you
3939 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
3940 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
3941 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
3942 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
3943 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
3944 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
3945 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
3946 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
3948 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
3949 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
3950 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
3951 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
3952 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
3953 articles that belong in the same thread together. This will leave
3954 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
3955 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
3956 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
3957 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
3958 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
3959 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
3960 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
3961 @code{nil} by default.
3963 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3964 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
3965 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
3966 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
3967 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
3968 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
3969 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subjects lines. If
3970 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
3971 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
3972 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
3973 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
3975 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
3976 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
3977 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects.
3979 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
3980 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
3981 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
3982 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
3983 simplification is used.
3985 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3986 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3987 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
3988 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
3990 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
3992 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
3995 (mapconcat 'identity
3997 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
3998 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
3999 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4000 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4005 (mapconcat 'identity
4006 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4008 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4011 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4014 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4015 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4016 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4017 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4018 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4019 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4020 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process. The
4021 default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4023 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4024 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4025 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4026 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4027 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4028 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4029 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever includes unrelated
4030 articles, but it's also means that people who have posted with broken
4031 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4035 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4036 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4037 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4038 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4040 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4041 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4042 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4045 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4049 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4050 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4053 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4054 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4055 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4056 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4057 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4058 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4060 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4061 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4062 There are four possible values:
4064 @cindex adopting articles
4069 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4070 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4071 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4072 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4075 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4076 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4077 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4078 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4079 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4080 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4081 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4084 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4085 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4086 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4090 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4091 display them after one another.
4094 Don't gather loose threads.
4097 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4098 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4099 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4102 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4103 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4104 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4107 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4108 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4109 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4110 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4111 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4114 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4115 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4116 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4117 The default is @code{4}.
4121 @node Thread Commands
4122 @subsection Thread Commands
4123 @cindex thread commands
4129 @kindex T k (Summary)
4130 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4131 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4132 Mark all articles in the current sub-thread as read
4133 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4134 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4139 @kindex T l (Summary)
4140 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4141 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4142 Lower the score of the current thread
4143 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4146 @kindex T i (Summary)
4147 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4148 Increase the score of the current thread
4149 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4152 @kindex T # (Summary)
4153 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4154 Set the process mark on the current thread
4155 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4158 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4159 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4160 Remove the process mark from the current thread
4161 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4164 @kindex T T (Summary)
4165 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4166 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4169 @kindex T s (Summary)
4170 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4171 Expose the thread hidden under the current article, if any
4172 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4175 @kindex T h (Summary)
4176 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4177 Hide the current (sub)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4180 @kindex T S (Summary)
4181 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4182 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
4185 @kindex T H (Summary)
4186 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
4187 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
4190 @kindex T t (Summary)
4191 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
4192 Re-thread the thread the current article is part of
4193 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
4194 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
4197 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
4198 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
4199 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
4200 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}.
4204 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
4205 understand the numeric prefix.
4210 @kindex T n (Summary)
4211 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
4212 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
4215 @kindex T p (Summary)
4216 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
4217 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
4220 @kindex T d (Summary)
4221 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
4222 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
4225 @kindex T u (Summary)
4226 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
4227 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
4230 @kindex T o (Summary)
4231 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
4232 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
4235 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
4236 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
4237 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
4238 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
4239 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
4240 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
4241 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If is
4242 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
4243 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
4244 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
4245 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
4246 that have subjects that are fuzzily equal will be included.
4252 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
4253 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
4254 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
4255 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4256 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
4257 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4258 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
4259 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
4260 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
4261 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
4262 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
4263 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
4264 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
4265 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
4267 Each function takes two threads and return non-@code{nil} if the first
4268 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
4269 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
4270 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
4271 in the list. You should probably always include
4272 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
4273 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
4274 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
4275 ascending article order.
4277 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
4278 number, you could do something like:
4281 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4282 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
4283 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
4284 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4287 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
4288 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
4289 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
4290 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
4291 which the articles arrived.
4293 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
4297 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
4299 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
4300 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
4303 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
4304 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
4305 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
4306 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
4309 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
4310 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
4311 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
4312 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
4313 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
4314 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
4315 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
4316 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
4317 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
4318 is uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
4319 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
4320 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
4321 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
4323 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
4327 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
4328 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
4329 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
4334 @node Asynchronous Fetching
4335 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
4336 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
4338 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
4339 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
4340 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
4341 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
4342 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
4344 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
4345 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
4347 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
4348 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
4349 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
4350 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
4351 connection is blocked.
4353 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
4354 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
4355 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
4356 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
4358 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
4359 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
4360 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
4361 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
4364 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
4367 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
4368 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
4369 happen automatically.
4371 @vindex nntp-async-number
4372 You can control how many articles that are to be pre-fetched by setting
4373 @code{nntp-async-number}. This is five by default, which means that when
4374 you read an article in the group, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch the next
4375 five articles. If this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch
4376 all the articles that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no
4377 pre-fetching will be made.
4379 @vindex gnus-asynchronous-article-function
4380 You may wish to create some sort of scheme for choosing which articles
4381 that @code{nntp} should consider as candidates for pre-fetching. For
4382 instance, you may wish to pre-fetch all articles with high scores, and
4383 not pre-fetch low-scored articles. You can do that by setting the
4384 @code{gnus-asynchronous-article-function}, which will be called with an
4385 alist where the keys are the article numbers. Your function should
4386 return an alist where the articles you are not interested in have been
4387 removed. You could also do sorting on article score and the like.
4390 @node Article Caching
4391 @section Article Caching
4392 @cindex article caching
4395 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
4396 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
4397 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
4398 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
4399 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
4401 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
4403 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4404 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
4405 @vindex gnus-use-cache
4406 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
4407 all articles that are ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
4408 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
4409 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
4410 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
4412 When re-select a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
4413 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
4414 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
4415 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
4416 as dormant, and don't worry.
4418 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
4420 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
4421 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
4422 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
4423 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
4424 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
4425 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
4426 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
4427 articles that are marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
4428 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
4429 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
4431 @findex gnus-jog-cache
4432 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
4433 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
4434 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, and store them in
4435 the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this command if 1)
4436 your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really, really slow
4437 and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk. Seriously.
4439 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
4440 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
4441 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
4442 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
4443 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
4444 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
4445 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
4448 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
4449 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
4450 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
4451 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
4452 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
4453 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
4454 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
4455 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
4456 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
4460 @node Persistent Articles
4461 @section Persistent Articles
4462 @cindex persistent articles
4464 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
4465 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
4466 useful in my opinion.
4468 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
4469 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
4470 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
4471 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
4472 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
4473 the expiry going on at the news server.
4475 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
4476 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
4477 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
4483 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
4484 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
4487 @kindex M-* (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
4489 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
4490 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
4494 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
4496 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
4497 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
4498 interested in persistent articles:
4501 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
4505 @node Article Backlog
4506 @section Article Backlog
4508 @cindex article backlog
4510 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
4511 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
4512 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
4513 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
4514 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
4515 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
4516 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
4517 increase memory usage some.
4519 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
4520 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
4521 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
4522 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
4523 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
4524 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
4525 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
4527 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
4530 @node Saving Articles
4531 @section Saving Articles
4532 @cindex saving articles
4534 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
4535 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
4536 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
4537 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
4538 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
4540 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
4541 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
4542 unwanted headers before saving the article.
4544 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
4545 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
4546 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
4547 deleted before saving.
4553 @kindex O o (Summary)
4555 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
4556 Save the current article using the default article saver
4557 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
4560 @kindex O m (Summary)
4561 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
4562 Save the current article in mail format
4563 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
4566 @kindex O r (Summary)
4567 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
4568 Save the current article in rmail format
4569 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
4572 @kindex O f (Summary)
4573 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
4574 Save the current article in plain file format
4575 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
4578 @kindex O b (Summary)
4579 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
4580 Save the current article body in plain file format
4581 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
4584 @kindex O h (Summary)
4585 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
4586 Save the current article in mh folder format
4587 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
4590 @kindex O v (Summary)
4591 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
4592 Save the current article in a VM folder
4593 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
4596 @kindex O p (Summary)
4597 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
4598 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
4599 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
4602 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
4603 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
4604 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
4605 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
4606 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
4607 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
4608 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
4609 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
4610 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
4611 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
4612 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
4613 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
4617 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
4618 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
4619 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
4620 functions below, or you can create your own.
4624 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4625 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
4626 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
4627 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4628 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
4629 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4630 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4632 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4633 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
4634 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
4635 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
4636 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4637 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
4639 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
4640 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
4641 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
4642 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4643 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
4644 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4645 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4647 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4648 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
4649 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
4650 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
4651 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
4653 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4654 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
4655 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
4656 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
4657 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
4660 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
4661 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
4662 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
4663 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
4664 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}. The former creates capitalized names, and
4665 the latter does not.
4667 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4668 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
4669 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
4670 reader to use this setting.
4673 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
4674 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
4675 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
4676 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
4679 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
4680 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
4681 available functions that generate names:
4685 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
4686 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
4687 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4689 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
4690 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
4691 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
4693 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
4694 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
4695 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4697 @item gnus-plain-save-name
4698 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
4699 Generates file names that look like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
4702 @vindex gnus-split-methods
4703 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
4704 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
4705 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
4706 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
4710 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
4711 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
4712 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
4713 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
4716 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
4717 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
4718 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
4719 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
4720 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
4721 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
4722 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
4723 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
4724 called returns a string or a list of strings.
4726 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
4727 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
4728 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
4729 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
4731 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
4732 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
4733 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
4736 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
4737 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
4738 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
4739 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
4740 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
4741 all the files in the toplevel directory
4742 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
4743 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
4744 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
4745 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
4747 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
4748 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
4749 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
4750 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
4751 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
4754 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
4758 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
4759 (setq gnus-default-article-save 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
4762 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
4763 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
4764 the toplevel directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
4765 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
4768 @node Decoding Articles
4769 @section Decoding Articles
4770 @cindex decoding articles
4772 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
4773 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
4776 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
4777 * Shared Articles:: Unshar articles.
4778 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
4779 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
4780 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
4783 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
4784 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
4785 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
4786 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
4787 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
4789 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
4790 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
4791 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
4793 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
4794 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
4795 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
4797 Subjects that are nonstandard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
4798 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
4799 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
4802 @node Uuencoded Articles
4803 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
4805 @cindex uuencoded articles
4810 @kindex X u (Summary)
4811 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
4812 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
4815 @kindex X U (Summary)
4816 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
4817 Uudecodes and saves the current series
4818 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4821 @kindex X v u (Summary)
4822 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
4823 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
4826 @kindex X v U (Summary)
4827 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
4828 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
4829 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
4832 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
4833 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
4834 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
4835 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
4836 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
4838 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
4839 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
4840 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
4841 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
4844 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
4845 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
4846 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
4847 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
4848 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
4849 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
4853 @node Shared Articles
4854 @subsection Shared Articles
4856 @cindex shared articles
4861 @kindex X s (Summary)
4862 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
4863 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
4866 @kindex X S (Summary)
4867 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
4868 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
4871 @kindex X v s (Summary)
4872 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
4873 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
4876 @kindex X v S (Summary)
4877 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
4878 Unshars, views and saves the current series
4879 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
4883 @node PostScript Files
4884 @subsection PostScript Files
4890 @kindex X p (Summary)
4891 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
4892 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
4895 @kindex X P (Summary)
4896 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
4897 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
4898 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
4901 @kindex X v p (Summary)
4902 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
4903 View the current PostScript series
4904 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
4907 @kindex X v P (Summary)
4908 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
4909 View and save the current PostScript series
4910 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
4914 @node Decoding Variables
4915 @subsection Decoding Variables
4917 Adjective, not verb.
4920 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
4921 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
4922 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
4926 @node Rule Variables
4927 @subsubsection Rule Variables
4928 @cindex rule variables
4930 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
4931 variables are on the form
4934 (list '(regexp1 command2)
4941 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4942 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4944 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
4945 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
4948 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
4949 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
4952 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4953 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
4954 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
4955 user and default view rules.
4957 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4958 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
4959 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
4964 @node Other Decode Variables
4965 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
4968 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
4970 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
4971 All functions in this list will be called right each file has been
4972 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
4973 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
4974 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
4978 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
4979 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
4982 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
4983 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
4984 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
4987 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
4988 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
4989 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
4991 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
4992 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
4993 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
4994 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
4995 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
4998 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
4999 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5000 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5002 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5003 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5004 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5005 looking for files to display.
5007 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5008 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5009 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5012 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5013 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5014 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5017 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5018 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5019 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5022 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5023 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5024 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5027 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5028 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5029 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark articles that were
5030 unsuccessfully decoded as unread.
5032 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5033 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5034 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5035 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5037 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5038 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5040 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5041 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5042 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5043 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5045 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5046 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5047 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5048 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5049 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5050 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5051 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5052 simply dropped them.
5057 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5058 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5062 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5063 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5064 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5065 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5066 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5067 for you when you post the article.
5069 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5070 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5071 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5072 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5074 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5075 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5076 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5077 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen are able
5078 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5079 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
5080 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
5082 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5083 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
5084 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
5085 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
5086 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
5087 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
5088 Default is @code{t}.
5094 @subsection Viewing Files
5095 @cindex viewing files
5096 @cindex pseudo-articles
5098 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
5099 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
5100 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
5101 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
5102 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
5103 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
5104 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
5106 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
5107 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
5108 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
5109 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
5111 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
5112 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
5113 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
5115 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
5116 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
5117 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
5118 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
5119 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
5121 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
5122 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
5123 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
5124 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
5125 a list of parameters to that command.
5127 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
5128 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
5129 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
5131 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
5132 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
5133 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
5136 @node Article Treatment
5137 @section Article Treatment
5139 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
5140 object of newsreaders are to actually, like, read what people have
5141 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
5142 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
5143 these articles easier.
5146 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
5147 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
5148 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
5149 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
5150 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
5151 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
5155 @node Article Highlighting
5156 @subsection Article Highlighting
5159 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
5160 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
5165 @kindex W H a (Summary)
5166 @findex gnus-article-highlight
5167 Highlight the current article (@code{gnus-article-highlight}).
5170 @kindex W H h (Summary)
5171 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
5172 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
5173 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
5174 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
5175 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
5176 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
5177 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name and
5178 @var{content} is the face for highlighting the header value. The first
5179 match made will be used. Note that @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^}
5180 prepended---Gnus will add one.
5183 @kindex W H c (Summary)
5184 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
5185 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
5187 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
5190 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5192 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
5193 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
5194 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
5196 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5197 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
5198 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
5200 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
5201 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
5202 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
5204 @item gnus-cite-face-list
5205 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
5206 List of faces used for highlighting citations. When there are citations
5207 from multiple articles in the same message, Gnus will try to give each
5208 citation from each article its own face. This should make it easier to
5211 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
5212 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
5213 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
5215 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5216 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
5217 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
5219 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5220 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
5221 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
5222 that it's a citation.
5224 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5225 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
5226 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
5228 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5229 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
5230 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
5232 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
5233 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
5234 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
5235 cited text belonging to the attribution.
5241 @kindex W H s (Summary)
5242 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5243 @vindex gnus-signature-face
5244 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
5245 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
5246 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
5247 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
5248 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
5254 @node Article Hiding
5255 @subsection Article Hiding
5256 @cindex article hiding
5258 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
5259 too much cruft in most articles.
5264 @kindex W W a (Summary)
5265 @findex gnus-article-hide
5266 Do maximum hiding on the summary buffer (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}).
5269 @kindex W W h (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
5271 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
5275 @kindex W W b (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
5277 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
5278 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
5281 @kindex W W s (Summary)
5282 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
5283 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
5287 @kindex W W p (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
5289 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}).
5292 @kindex W W P (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
5294 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhavnced hessages) gruft
5295 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
5298 @kindex W W c (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
5300 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
5301 customizing the hiding:
5305 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5306 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
5307 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
5308 50), hide the cited text.
5310 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5311 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
5312 The cited text must be have at least this length (default 10) before it
5315 @item gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5316 @vindex gnus-cited-text-button-line-format
5317 Gnus adds buttons show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
5318 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
5319 by this format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
5324 Start point of the hidden text.
5326 End point of the hidden text.
5328 Length of the hidden text.
5331 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
5332 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
5333 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
5338 @kindex W W C (Summary)
5339 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
5340 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
5341 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
5342 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
5343 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
5347 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
5348 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
5349 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
5351 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
5352 citation customization.
5355 @node Article Washing
5356 @subsection Article Washing
5358 @cindex article washing
5360 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
5361 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
5363 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
5364 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
5370 @kindex W l (Summary)
5371 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
5372 Remove page breaks from the current article
5373 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}).
5376 @kindex W r (Summary)
5377 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
5378 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
5379 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
5382 @kindex W t (Summary)
5383 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
5384 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
5385 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
5388 @kindex W v (Summary)
5389 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
5390 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
5391 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
5394 @kindex W m (Summary)
5395 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
5396 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
5397 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
5400 @kindex W o (Summary)
5401 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
5402 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
5405 @kindex W w (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
5407 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
5408 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
5409 late and certainly after any highlighting.
5412 @kindex W c (Summary)
5413 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
5414 Remove CR (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
5417 @kindex W L (Summary)
5418 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
5419 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
5420 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
5423 @kindex W q (Summary)
5424 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
5425 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
5428 @kindex W f (Summary)
5430 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
5431 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
5432 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
5433 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
5434 Look for and display any X-Face headers
5435 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
5436 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
5437 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
5438 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
5439 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
5440 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
5441 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
5442 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
5443 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
5444 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
5445 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
5446 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
5447 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
5451 @kindex W b (Summary)
5452 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
5453 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
5456 @kindex W B (Summary)
5457 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
5458 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
5459 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
5464 @node Article Buttons
5465 @subsection Article Buttons
5468 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
5469 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
5470 with the minimum of fuzz.
5472 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
5473 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
5474 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
5479 @item gnus-button-alist
5480 @vindex gnus-button-alist
5481 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
5484 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5490 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
5491 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that match embedded URLs:
5492 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
5495 Gnus has to know which parts of the match is to be highlighted. This is
5496 a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp that is to be
5497 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use @code{0} here.
5500 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
5501 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
5502 avoid false matches.
5505 This function will be called when you click on this button.
5508 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
5509 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
5513 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
5516 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
5519 @item gnus-header-button-alist
5520 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
5521 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
5522 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
5523 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
5526 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
5529 @var{header} is a regular expression.
5531 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
5532 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
5533 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
5534 default values of the variables above.
5536 @item gnus-article-button-face
5537 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
5538 Face used on bottons.
5540 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
5541 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
5542 Face is used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
5548 @subsection Article Date
5550 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
5551 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
5552 when the article was sent.
5557 @kindex W T u (Summary)
5558 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
5559 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
5560 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
5563 @kindex W T l (Summary)
5564 @findex gnus-article-date-local
5565 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
5568 @kindex W T e (Summary)
5569 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
5570 Say how much time has (e)lapsed between the article was posted and now
5571 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}).
5574 @kindex W T o (Summary)
5575 @findex gnus-article-date-original
5576 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
5577 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and is
5578 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
5579 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
5580 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
5585 @node Article Signature
5586 @subsection Article Signature
5588 @cindex article signature
5590 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
5591 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
5592 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
5593 that says what is to be considered a signature is
5594 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
5595 @samp{"^-- $"} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
5596 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
5597 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
5598 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
5601 (setq gnus-signature-separator
5602 '("^-- $" ; The standard
5603 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
5604 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
5605 ; line of dashes. Shame!
5606 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
5607 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
5608 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
5611 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
5614 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
5615 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
5620 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
5623 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
5626 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
5627 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
5629 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
5630 in question is not a signature.
5633 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
5637 @node Summary Sorting
5638 @section Summary Sorting
5639 @cindex summary sorting
5641 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
5642 can't really see why you'd want that.
5647 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
5648 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
5649 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
5652 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
5653 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
5654 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
5657 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
5658 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
5659 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
5662 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
5663 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
5664 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
5667 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
5668 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
5669 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
5672 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
5673 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
5674 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
5675 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
5676 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
5680 @node Finding the Parent
5681 @section Finding the Parent
5682 @cindex parent articles
5683 @cindex referring articles
5685 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
5687 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
5688 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
5689 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
5690 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
5691 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
5692 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
5693 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
5694 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
5696 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
5697 @kindex A R (Summary)
5698 You can have Gnus fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References}
5699 header of the article by pushing @kbd{A R}
5700 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
5702 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
5703 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
5704 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
5705 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
5706 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
5707 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long thingies that look
5708 something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You have to get
5709 it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
5711 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
5712 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
5713 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
5714 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
5715 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the same
5716 as the one that keeps the spool you are reading from updated, but that's
5717 not really necessary.
5719 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
5720 not do a particularly excellent job of it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
5721 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
5722 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
5723 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
5724 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
5727 @node Alternative Approaches
5728 @section Alternative Approaches
5730 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
5731 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
5734 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
5735 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
5740 @subsection Pick and Read
5741 @cindex pick and read
5743 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{nn}) use a two-phased
5744 reading interface. The user first marks the articles she wants to read
5745 from a summary buffer. Then she starts reading the articles with just
5746 an article buffer displayed.
5748 @findex gnus-pick-mode
5749 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
5750 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
5751 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
5752 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
5753 it makes one additional command for switching to the summary buffer
5756 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
5761 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5762 Pick the article on the current line
5763 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}). If given a numerical prefix,
5764 go to the article on that line and pick that article. (The line number
5765 is normally displayed on the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
5768 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
5769 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
5770 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
5771 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
5775 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5776 Unpick the article (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5780 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5781 Unpick all articles (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5785 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5786 Pick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5790 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5791 Unpick the thread (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5795 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5796 Pick the region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5800 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-region
5801 Unpick the region (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-region}).
5805 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5806 Pick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5810 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5811 Unpick articles that match a regexp (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5815 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5816 Pick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5820 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-buffer
5821 Unpick the buffer (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-buffer}).
5825 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
5826 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
5827 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
5828 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
5829 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
5830 will still be visible when you are reading.
5834 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
5837 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
5840 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
5841 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
5843 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
5844 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
5845 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
5847 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
5848 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different than the
5849 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
5850 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
5851 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
5852 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
5853 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
5857 @subsection Binary Groups
5858 @cindex binary groups
5860 @findex gnus-binary-mode
5861 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
5862 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
5863 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
5864 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
5865 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
5866 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
5869 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
5870 In fact, the only way to see the actual articles if you have turned this
5871 mode on is the @kbd{g} command (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
5873 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
5874 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
5878 @section Tree Display
5881 @vindex gnus-use-trees
5882 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
5883 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
5884 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
5887 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
5890 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
5891 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
5892 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
5894 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5895 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
5896 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers. The default
5897 is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}. For a list of legal specs, @pxref{Summary
5900 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
5901 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
5902 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
5903 default is @code{modeline}.
5905 @item gnus-tree-line-format
5906 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
5907 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
5908 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
5909 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
5910 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
5911 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
5917 The name of the poster.
5919 The @code{From} header.
5921 The number of the article.
5923 The opening bracket.
5925 The closing bracket.
5930 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5932 Variables related to the display are:
5935 @item gnus-tree-brackets
5936 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
5937 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
5938 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
5939 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
5940 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}))}.
5942 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
5943 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
5944 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
5945 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
5949 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
5950 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
5951 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
5952 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
5953 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
5954 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}.
5956 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
5957 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
5958 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
5959 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
5960 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
5961 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
5962 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
5966 Here's and example from a horizontal tree buffer:
5969 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
5979 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
5983 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
5984 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
5986 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
5988 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
5994 @node Mail Group Commands
5995 @section Mail Group Commands
5996 @cindex mail group commands
5998 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
5999 illegal in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
6001 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
6002 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6007 @kindex B e (Summary)
6008 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
6009 Expire all expirable articles in the group
6010 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
6013 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
6014 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
6015 Expunge all the expirable articles in the group
6016 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
6017 articles that are eligible for expiry in the current group will
6018 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
6021 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
6022 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
6023 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
6024 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
6025 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
6028 @kindex B m (Summary)
6030 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
6031 Move the article from one mail group to another
6032 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6035 @kindex B c (Summary)
6037 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
6038 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
6039 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
6042 @kindex B C (Summary)
6043 @cindex crosspost mail
6044 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
6045 Crosspost the current article to some other group
6046 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
6047 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
6048 be properly updated.
6051 @kindex B i (Summary)
6052 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
6053 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
6054 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
6055 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
6058 @kindex B r (Summary)
6059 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
6060 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
6064 @kindex B w (Summary)
6066 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
6067 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
6068 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
6069 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
6070 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}).
6073 @kindex B q (Summary)
6074 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
6075 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
6076 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
6077 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
6080 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
6081 @cindex moving articles
6082 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
6083 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
6084 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
6085 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
6086 suggestions you find reasonable.
6089 @node Various Summary Stuff
6090 @section Various Summary Stuff
6093 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
6094 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
6095 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
6099 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
6100 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
6101 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
6103 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
6104 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
6105 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
6106 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
6107 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
6108 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
6111 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6112 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
6113 Is is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
6114 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
6115 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
6120 @node Summary Group Information
6121 @subsection Summary Group Information
6126 @kindex H f (Summary)
6127 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
6128 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
6129 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
6130 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
6131 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
6132 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
6133 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
6134 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} probably will be used for
6138 @kindex H d (Summary)
6139 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
6140 Give a brief description of the current group
6141 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
6142 rereading the description from the server.
6145 @kindex H h (Summary)
6146 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
6147 Give a very brief description of the most important summary keystrokes
6148 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
6151 @kindex H i (Summary)
6152 @findex gnus-info-find-node
6153 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
6157 @node Searching for Articles
6158 @subsection Searching for Articles
6163 @kindex M-s (Summary)
6164 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
6165 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
6166 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
6169 @kindex M-r (Summary)
6170 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
6171 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
6172 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
6176 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
6177 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
6178 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
6179 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}).
6182 @kindex M-& (Summary)
6183 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
6184 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
6185 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
6189 @node Really Various Summary Commands
6190 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
6195 @kindex C-d (Summary)
6196 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
6197 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
6198 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
6199 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
6200 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
6201 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
6202 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages on
6203 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
6207 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
6208 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
6209 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
6210 several documents into one biiig group
6211 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
6212 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
6213 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
6214 command understands the process/prefix convention
6215 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
6218 @kindex C-t (Summary)
6219 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
6220 Toggle truncation of summary lines (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}).
6224 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
6225 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
6226 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
6230 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
6231 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
6232 @cindex summary exit
6233 @cindex exiting groups
6235 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
6236 group and return you to the group buffer.
6242 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
6244 @findex gnus-summary-exit
6245 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
6246 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
6247 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
6248 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
6249 called before doing much of the exiting, and calls
6250 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
6251 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exiting
6256 @kindex Z E (Summary)
6258 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
6259 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
6260 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
6264 @kindex Z c (Summary)
6266 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
6267 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
6268 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
6271 @kindex Z C (Summary)
6272 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
6273 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
6274 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
6277 @kindex Z n (Summary)
6278 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
6279 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
6280 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
6283 @kindex Z R (Summary)
6284 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
6285 Exit this group, and then enter it again
6286 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
6287 all articles, both read and unread.
6291 @kindex Z G (Summary)
6292 @kindex M-g (Summary)
6293 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
6294 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
6295 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
6296 articles, both read and unread.
6299 @kindex Z N (Summary)
6300 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
6301 Exit the group and go to the next group
6302 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
6305 @kindex Z P (Summary)
6306 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
6307 Exit the group and go to the previous group
6308 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
6311 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
6312 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
6315 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
6316 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
6317 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
6318 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
6319 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
6320 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
6321 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
6322 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
6323 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
6324 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
6325 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
6326 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
6328 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
6330 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
6331 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
6332 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
6333 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
6334 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
6335 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
6336 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
6337 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
6338 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
6341 @node Crosspost Handling
6342 @section Crosspost Handling
6346 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
6347 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
6348 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
6349 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
6350 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
6351 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
6354 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
6355 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
6356 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
6357 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
6358 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
6360 @cindex cross-posting
6363 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
6364 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
6365 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
6366 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
6367 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
6368 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
6369 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
6370 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
6371 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
6372 the cross reference mechanism.
6374 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
6375 @cindex overview.fmt
6376 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
6377 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
6378 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
6379 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
6380 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
6381 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
6384 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
6385 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
6386 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
6391 For an alternative approach, @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
6394 @node Duplicate Suppression
6395 @section Duplicate Suppression
6397 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
6398 article more than once by utilizing the crossposing mechanism
6399 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
6400 approach may not work satisfactorily for some users for various
6405 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
6406 is evil and not very common.
6409 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
6410 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
6413 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
6414 different @sc{nntp} servers.
6417 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
6420 I'm sure there are other situations that @code{Xref} handling fails as
6421 well, but these four are the most common situations.
6423 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
6424 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
6425 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
6426 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
6427 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
6428 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
6429 so. It's certainly preferrable to reading the same articles more than
6432 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
6433 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
6434 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
6435 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
6436 article as read the the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
6440 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
6441 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
6442 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
6444 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
6445 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
6446 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
6447 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
6448 However, this means that only duplicate articles that is read in a
6449 single Gnus session are suppressed.
6451 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
6452 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
6453 This variables says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
6454 suppression list. The default is 10000.
6456 @item gnus-duplicate-file
6457 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
6458 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list. The
6459 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
6462 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
6463 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
6464 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
6465 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
6466 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
6467 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
6468 to you to figure out, I think.
6471 @node The Article Buffer
6472 @chapter The Article Buffer
6473 @cindex article buffer
6475 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
6476 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
6477 tell Gnus otherwise.
6480 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
6481 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
6482 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
6483 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer
6484 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
6488 @node Hiding Headers
6489 @section Hiding Headers
6490 @cindex hiding headers
6491 @cindex deleting headers
6493 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
6494 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
6496 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
6497 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
6498 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
6499 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
6500 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
6501 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
6502 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
6503 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
6504 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
6506 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
6510 @item gnus-visible-headers
6511 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
6512 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
6513 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
6514 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
6516 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
6517 the article and the subject, you'd say:
6520 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
6523 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6526 @item gnus-ignored-headers
6527 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
6528 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
6529 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
6530 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
6531 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
6533 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
6534 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
6537 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
6540 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers that are to
6543 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
6544 variable will have no effect.
6548 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
6549 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
6550 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
6551 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
6552 the headers are to be displayed.
6554 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
6555 and then the subject, you might say something like:
6558 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
6561 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
6562 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers that
6563 are listed in this variable.
6565 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6566 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6567 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
6568 You can hide further boring headers by entering
6569 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
6570 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
6571 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
6572 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
6573 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
6575 These conditions are:
6578 Remove all empty headers.
6580 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
6583 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
6584 @code{Newsgroups} header.
6586 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
6589 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
6593 To include the four first elements, you could say something like;
6596 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
6597 '(empty newsgroups followup-to reply-to))
6600 This is also the default value for this variable.
6604 @section Using @sc{mime}
6607 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
6608 while people stand around yawning.
6610 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
6611 while all newsreaders die of fear.
6613 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
6614 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
6615 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
6617 @vindex gnus-show-mime
6618 @vindex gnus-show-mime-method
6619 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
6620 @findex metamail-buffer
6621 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by shoving the articles through
6622 @code{gnus-show-mime-method}, which is @code{metamail-buffer} by
6623 default. Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
6624 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
6625 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
6626 @sc{mime} headers in the article.
6628 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the summary
6629 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
6630 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
6631 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
6632 comes streaming out out your speakers, and you can't find the volume
6633 button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you,
6634 and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the
6635 program to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly
6636 decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
6638 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
6641 @node Customizing Articles
6642 @section Customizing Articles
6643 @cindex article customization
6645 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6646 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
6647 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
6648 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
6650 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6651 By default it contains @code{gnus-article-hide-headers},
6652 @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}, and
6653 @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight}, but there are thousands, nay
6654 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
6655 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
6656 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
6659 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
6660 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
6661 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
6662 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
6663 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
6666 @node Article Keymap
6667 @section Article Keymap
6669 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
6670 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
6671 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
6672 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
6675 A few additional keystrokes are available:
6680 @kindex SPACE (Article)
6681 @findex gnus-article-next-page
6682 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
6685 @kindex DEL (Article)
6686 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
6687 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
6690 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
6691 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
6692 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
6693 @kbd{r}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
6694 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
6697 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
6698 @findex gnus-article-mail
6699 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
6700 given a prefix, include the mail.
6704 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
6705 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
6706 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
6710 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
6711 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
6712 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
6715 @kindex TAB (Article)
6716 @findex gnus-article-next-button
6717 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}. This
6718 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
6721 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
6722 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
6723 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}.
6729 @section Misc Article
6733 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
6734 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
6735 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
6736 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
6739 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
6740 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
6741 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
6742 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
6743 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
6744 the contents of the article buffer.
6746 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
6747 @item gnus-article-display-hook
6748 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
6749 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
6750 hiding headers, and the like.
6752 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
6753 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
6754 Hook called in article mode buffers.
6756 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
6757 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
6758 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
6759 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. It accepts the same
6760 format specifications as that variable, with one extension:
6764 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
6765 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
6769 @vindex gnus-break-pages
6771 @item gnus-break-pages
6772 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
6773 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
6774 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
6775 paging will not be done.
6777 @item gnus-page-delimiter
6778 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
6779 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
6784 @node Composing Messages
6785 @chapter Composing Messages
6790 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
6791 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
6792 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
6793 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
6794 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
6795 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
6796 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
6799 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
6800 * Post:: Posting and following up.
6801 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
6802 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
6803 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
6804 @c * Posting Styles:: An easier way to configure some key elements.
6805 @c * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
6806 @c * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
6809 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
6810 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
6816 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
6819 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
6820 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
6821 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
6822 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
6830 Variables for composing news articles:
6833 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
6834 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
6835 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
6836 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
6837 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
6838 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to sent the
6839 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
6840 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
6841 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
6844 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
6845 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
6846 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
6847 file. It is 1000 by default.
6852 @node Posting Server
6853 @section Posting Server
6855 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
6856 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
6858 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
6860 @vindex gnus-post-method
6862 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
6863 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
6864 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
6865 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
6866 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
6869 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
6872 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
6873 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
6874 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
6875 the ``current'' server for posting.
6877 If you give a zero prefix (i. e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
6878 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
6880 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
6881 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
6886 @section Mail and Post
6888 Here's a list of variables that are relevant to both mailing and
6892 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
6893 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
6894 @cindex mailing lists
6896 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists that are
6897 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
6898 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
6899 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
6900 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
6901 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that match the groups that
6902 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
6903 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
6904 still a pain, though.
6908 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
6909 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
6910 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
6913 @findex ispell-message
6915 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
6919 @node Archived Messages
6920 @section Archived Messages
6921 @cindex archived messages
6922 @cindex sent messages
6924 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail you send.
6925 The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to store
6926 the mail. If you want to disable this completely, you should set
6927 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil}.
6929 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
6930 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
6931 use to store sent messages. It is @code{(nnfolder "archive"
6932 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive/"))} by default, but you can use any
6933 mail select method (@code{nnml}, @code{nnmbox}, etc.). However,
6934 @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method for doing this sort of
6935 thing. If you don't like the default directory chosen, you could say
6939 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
6940 '(nnfolder "archive"
6941 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
6942 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
6943 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
6946 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
6948 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
6949 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
6950 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
6952 This variable can be:
6956 Messages will be saved in that group.
6957 @item a list of strings
6958 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
6959 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
6960 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
6962 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
6967 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
6969 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
6972 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
6974 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
6977 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
6979 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
6980 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
6981 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
6982 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
6987 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
6988 '((if (message-news-p)
6993 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
6994 messages in one file per month:
6997 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
6998 '((if (message-news-p)
7000 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
7001 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
7004 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
7005 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
7006 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
7007 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
7008 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
7009 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
7010 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
7011 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
7012 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
7013 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
7015 That's the default method of archiving sent mail. Gnus also offers two
7016 other variables for the people who don't like the default method. In
7017 that case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to
7018 @code{nil}; this will disable archiving.
7020 XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
7021 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.
7025 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
7026 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
7027 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
7028 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
7029 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
7032 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
7033 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
7034 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
7039 @c @node Posting Styles
7040 @c @section Posting Styles
7041 @c @cindex posting styles
7044 @c All them variables, they make my head swim.
7046 @c So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
7047 @c on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
7048 @c and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
7051 @c @vindex gnus-posting-styles
7052 @c One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
7053 @c variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
7054 @c came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
7055 @c a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
7060 @c (signature . "Peace and happiness")
7061 @c (organization . "What me?"))
7063 @c (signature . "Death to everybody"))
7064 @c ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
7065 @c (organization . "Emacs is it")))
7068 @c As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
7069 @c @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
7070 @c ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
7071 @c over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
7072 @c applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
7073 @c the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
7074 @c @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
7075 @c signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
7077 @c The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
7078 @c string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
7079 @c If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
7080 @c arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
7081 @c referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
7082 @c any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
7085 @c Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
7086 @c attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
7087 @c can be one of @code{signature}, @code{organization} or @code{from}. The
7088 @c attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
7089 @c a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
7092 @c The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
7093 @c return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
7094 @c list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
7096 @c So here's a new example:
7099 @c (setq gnus-posting-styles
7101 @c (signature . "~/.signature")
7102 @c (from . "user@@foo (user)")
7103 @c ("X-Home-Page" . (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
7104 @c (organization . "People's Front Against MWM"))
7106 @c (signature . my-funny-signature-randomizer))
7107 @c ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
7108 @c (signature . my-quote-randomizer))
7109 @c (posting-from-work-p
7110 @c (signature . "~/.work-signature")
7111 @c (from . "user@@bar.foo (user)")
7112 @c (organization . "Important Work, Inc"))
7114 @c (signature . "~/.mail-signature"))))
7121 @c If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
7122 @c you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
7123 @c craazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save the
7124 @c message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some other
7125 @c day, and send it when you feel its finished.
7127 @c Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
7128 @c some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
7129 @c automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
7130 @c If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
7131 @c article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
7135 @c @vindex gnus-draft-group-directory
7136 @c The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
7137 @c @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
7138 @c @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{gnus-draft-group-directory}
7139 @c controls both the name of the group and the location---the leaf element
7140 @c in the path will be used as the name of the group. What makes this
7141 @c group special is that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any
7142 @c articles as read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
7144 @c If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
7147 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
7148 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
7149 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
7150 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
7151 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
7152 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
7153 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
7154 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
7155 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
7156 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
7157 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
7158 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
7159 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
7160 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
7162 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
7163 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
7164 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
7166 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-draft
7167 @c @kindex S D c (Summary)
7168 @c When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
7169 @c draft group and push @kbd{S D c} (@code{gnus-summary-send-draft}) to do
7170 @c that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
7172 @c Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
7175 @c @findex gnus-summary-send-all-drafts
7176 @c If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
7177 @c doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{S D a} command
7178 @c (@code{gnus-summary-send-all-drafts}). This command understands the
7179 @c process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7182 @c @node Rejected Articles
7183 @c @section Rejected Articles
7184 @c @cindex rejected articles
7186 @c Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
7187 @c doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
7188 @c @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
7189 @c Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
7191 @c These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
7192 @c (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
7193 @c fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
7194 @c you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
7195 @c articles until some later time when the server feels better.
7197 @c The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
7198 @c (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
7199 @c typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
7202 @node Select Methods
7203 @chapter Select Methods
7204 @cindex foreign groups
7205 @cindex select methods
7207 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group that is not read by the usual (or
7208 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
7209 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
7210 personal mail group.
7212 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
7213 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
7214 list where the first element says what backend to use (eg. @code{nntp},
7215 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
7216 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
7217 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
7219 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
7220 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
7222 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
7225 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
7226 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
7227 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group, in
7228 all circumstances, @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the
7229 @code{nntp} backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
7231 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
7234 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
7235 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
7236 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
7237 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
7238 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
7242 @node The Server Buffer
7243 @section The Server Buffer
7245 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
7246 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
7247 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
7248 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
7249 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
7250 backend represents a virtual server.
7252 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
7253 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
7254 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
7255 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
7257 These select methods specifications can sometimes become quite
7258 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
7259 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number @code{13}, which
7260 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
7261 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
7262 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
7263 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
7265 To enter the server buffer, user the @kbd{^}
7266 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
7269 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
7270 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
7271 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
7272 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
7273 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
7274 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
7277 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
7278 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
7281 @node Server Buffer Format
7282 @subsection Server Buffer Format
7283 @cindex server buffer format
7285 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
7286 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
7287 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
7288 variable, with some simple extensions:
7293 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
7296 The name of this server.
7299 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
7302 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
7305 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
7306 The mode line can also be customized by using the
7307 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable. The following specs are
7318 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
7321 @node Server Commands
7322 @subsection Server Commands
7323 @cindex server commands
7329 @findex gnus-server-add-server
7330 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
7334 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
7335 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
7338 @kindex SPACE (Server)
7339 @findex gnus-server-read-server
7340 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
7344 @findex gnus-server-exit
7345 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
7349 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
7350 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
7354 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
7355 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
7359 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
7360 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
7364 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
7365 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
7370 @node Example Methods
7371 @subsection Example Methods
7373 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
7376 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
7379 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
7385 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
7386 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
7389 After these two elements, there may be a arbitrary number of
7390 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
7392 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
7393 port @code{15} from that machine. This is what the select method should
7397 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
7400 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
7401 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example.
7403 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
7404 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
7405 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
7409 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
7412 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
7415 Here's the method for a public spool:
7419 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
7420 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
7424 @node Creating a Virtual Server
7425 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
7427 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
7428 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
7430 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
7431 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
7432 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
7434 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
7436 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
7437 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
7438 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
7439 will contain the following:
7449 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
7450 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
7451 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
7454 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
7455 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
7456 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
7459 @node Servers and Methods
7460 @subsection Servers and Methods
7462 Wherever you would normally use a select method
7463 (eg. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
7464 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
7465 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
7469 @node Unavailable Servers
7470 @subsection Unavailable Servers
7472 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
7473 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
7474 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
7475 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
7476 actually the case or not.
7478 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
7479 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to the server
7480 @samp{nepholococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
7481 away from you, the machine is quite, so it takes 1 minute just to find
7482 out that it refuses connection from you today. If Gnus were to attempt
7483 to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't attempt to do
7484 that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'', it will
7485 regard that server as ``down''.
7487 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
7488 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
7490 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
7491 with the following commands:
7497 @findex gnus-server-open-server
7498 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
7499 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
7503 @findex gnus-server-close-server
7504 Close the connection (if any) to the server
7505 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
7509 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
7510 Mark the current server as unreachable
7511 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
7514 @kindex M-o (Server)
7515 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
7516 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
7517 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
7520 @kindex M-c (Server)
7521 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
7522 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
7523 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
7527 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
7528 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from all servers
7529 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
7535 @section Getting News
7536 @cindex reading news
7537 @cindex news backends
7539 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
7540 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
7541 or it can read from a local spool.
7544 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
7545 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
7550 @subsection @sc{nntp}
7553 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
7554 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
7555 server as the, uhm, address.
7557 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
7558 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
7559 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
7560 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
7562 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
7563 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
7564 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
7566 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
7571 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
7572 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
7573 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
7575 @cindex authentification
7576 @cindex nntp authentification
7577 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
7578 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
7579 @code{nntp-server-opened-hook} is run after a connection has been made.
7580 It can be used to send commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has
7581 been contacted. By default is sends the command @code{MODE READER} to
7582 the server with the @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. Another
7583 popular function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which will prompt you for
7584 an @sc{nntp} password and stuff.
7586 @item nntp-server-action-alist
7587 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
7588 This is an list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
7589 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
7590 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
7593 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
7597 You probably don't want to do that, though.
7599 The default value is
7602 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
7603 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook nntp-send-mode-reader)))
7606 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
7607 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
7609 @item nntp-maximum-request
7610 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
7611 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
7612 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
7613 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
7614 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
7615 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
7616 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
7618 @item nntp-connection-timeout
7619 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
7620 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
7621 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
7622 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
7623 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
7624 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
7625 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
7626 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
7627 no timeouts are done.
7629 @item nntp-command-timeout
7630 @vindex nntp-command-timeout
7631 @cindex PPP connections
7632 @cindex dynamic IP addresses
7633 If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
7634 address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
7635 changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
7636 waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
7637 unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
7638 then, if it sits waiting longer than that number of seconds for a reply
7639 from the server, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
7640 the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
7641 likely number is 30 seconds.
7643 @item nntp-retry-on-break
7644 @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
7645 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
7646 hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
7649 @item nntp-server-hook
7650 @vindex nntp-server-hook
7651 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
7654 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
7655 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
7656 @item nntp-open-server-function
7657 @vindex nntp-open-server-function
7658 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Two pre-made
7659 functions are @code{nntp-open-network-stream}, which is the default, and
7660 simply connects to some port or other on the remote system. The other
7661 is @code{nntp-open-rlogin}, which does an rlogin on the remote system,
7662 and then does a telnet to the @sc{nntp} server available there.
7664 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
7665 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
7666 If you use @code{nntp-open-rlogin} as the
7667 @code{nntp-open-server-function}, this list will be used as the
7668 parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
7670 @item nntp-end-of-line
7671 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
7672 String to use as end-of-line markers when talking to the @sc{nntp}
7673 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
7674 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
7676 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
7677 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
7678 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
7682 @vindex nntp-address
7683 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
7685 @item nntp-port-number
7686 @vindex nntp-port-number
7687 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
7690 @item nntp-buggy-select
7691 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
7692 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
7694 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
7695 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
7696 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
7697 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks whether @sc{nov}
7698 can be used automatically.
7700 @item nntp-xover-commands
7701 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
7704 List of strings that are used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
7705 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
7709 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
7710 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
7711 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
7712 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
7713 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
7714 lines that you do not want, and will not use. This variable says how
7715 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
7716 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
7717 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
7718 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
7719 @code{nntp} will never split requests.
7721 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
7722 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
7723 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
7725 @item nntp-async-number
7726 @vindex nntp-async-number
7727 How many articles should be pre-fetched when in asynchronous mode. If
7728 this variable is @code{t}, @code{nntp} will pre-fetch all the articles
7729 that it can without bound. If it is @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be
7732 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7733 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
7734 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
7735 server closes connection.
7741 @subsection News Spool
7745 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
7746 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups like
7747 @samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}.
7749 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @samp{} (or
7750 anything else) as the address.
7752 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
7753 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
7754 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
7755 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
7759 @item nnspool-inews-program
7760 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
7761 Program used to post an article.
7763 @item nnspool-inews-switches
7764 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
7765 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
7767 @item nnspool-spool-directory
7768 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
7769 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
7770 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
7772 @item nnspool-nov-directory
7773 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
7774 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
7775 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
7777 @item nnspool-lib-dir
7778 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
7779 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
7781 @item nnspool-active-file
7782 @vindex nnspool-active-file
7783 The path of the active file.
7785 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
7786 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
7787 The path of the group descriptions file.
7789 @item nnspool-history-file
7790 @vindex nnspool-history-file
7791 The path of the news history file.
7793 @item nnspool-active-times-file
7794 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
7795 The path of the active date file.
7797 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
7798 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
7799 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
7802 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7803 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
7805 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
7806 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
7807 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
7813 @section Getting Mail
7814 @cindex reading mail
7817 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
7821 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
7822 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
7823 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
7824 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
7825 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
7826 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
7827 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
7828 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
7829 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
7830 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
7834 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
7835 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
7837 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
7838 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
7839 and things will happen automatically.
7841 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a one file per
7842 mail backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
7845 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
7846 '((nnml "private")))
7849 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
7850 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
7851 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
7852 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
7853 like any other group.
7855 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
7858 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7859 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7860 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7864 This will result in three new mail groups being created:
7865 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
7866 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
7869 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
7870 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though,
7871 especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
7874 @node Splitting Mail
7875 @subsection Splitting Mail
7876 @cindex splitting mail
7877 @cindex mail splitting
7879 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
7880 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
7881 to be split into groups.
7884 (setq nnmail-split-methods
7885 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
7886 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
7890 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
7891 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
7892 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
7893 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
7894 determine if it belongs in this mail group.
7896 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
7897 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
7898 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
7899 mail belongs in that group.
7901 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
7902 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any
7903 mails that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps.
7905 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
7906 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
7907 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
7908 message. The function should return a list of groups names that it
7909 thinks should carry this mail message.
7911 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent
7912 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
7913 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
7914 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
7916 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
7917 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
7918 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
7919 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
7920 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
7922 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
7925 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
7926 the crossposted articles. However, not all files systems support hard
7927 links. If that's the case for you, set
7928 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
7929 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
7931 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
7932 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
7933 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
7934 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
7935 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
7936 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
7937 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
7938 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
7942 @node Mail Backend Variables
7943 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
7945 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
7949 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
7950 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
7951 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
7952 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
7954 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
7955 @item nnmail-spool-file
7959 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
7960 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
7961 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
7962 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
7963 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
7964 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
7965 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
7966 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
7967 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
7968 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
7969 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
7970 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
7971 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
7972 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
7973 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
7975 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
7976 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
7977 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
7978 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
7979 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
7980 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
7982 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
7983 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
7984 @item nnmail-use-procmail
7985 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
7986 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
7987 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
7988 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
7991 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
7992 @item nnmail-crash-box
7993 When the mail backends read a spool file, it is first moved to this
7994 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
7995 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
7998 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
7999 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
8000 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
8001 used for, well, anything, really.
8003 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8004 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8005 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8006 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
8007 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
8008 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
8009 starting to handle the new mail) and
8010 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
8011 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
8012 default file modes the new mail files get:
8015 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
8016 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
8018 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
8019 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
8022 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
8023 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
8024 This variable says where to move the incoming mail to while processing
8025 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
8026 inhabits (i.e., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
8027 it will be used instead.
8029 @item nnmail-movemail-program
8030 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
8031 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
8032 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
8034 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
8035 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
8036 @cindex incoming mail files
8037 @cindex deleting incoming files
8038 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
8039 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{nil} by
8040 default for reasons of security.
8042 Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
8043 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
8044 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point.) By not deleting the
8045 Incoming* files, one can be sure to not lose mail -- if Gnus totally
8046 whacks out, one can always recover what was lost.
8048 Delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
8050 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
8051 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
8052 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
8053 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories like
8054 @file{mail.misc/}. If it is @code{nil}, the same group will end up in
8057 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
8058 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
8060 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
8065 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
8066 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
8067 @cindex mail splitting
8068 @cindex fancy mail splitting
8070 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
8071 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
8072 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
8073 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
8074 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
8075 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
8077 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
8080 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
8081 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
8082 ;; from real errors.
8083 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
8085 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
8086 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
8087 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
8088 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
8089 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
8090 ;; Other mailing lists...
8091 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
8092 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
8094 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen"))
8095 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
8099 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
8100 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
8101 the four possible split syntaxes:
8106 If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group name.
8108 @item (FIELD VALUE SPLIT)
8109 If the split is a list, and the first element is a string, then that
8110 means that if header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp),
8111 then store the message as specified by SPLIT.
8114 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{|} (vertical
8115 bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them matches. A SPLIT is
8116 said to match if it will cause the mail message to be stored in one or
8120 If the split is a list, and the first element is @code{&}, then process
8121 all SPLITs in the list.
8124 In these splits, FIELD must match a complete field name. VALUE must
8125 match a complete word according to the fundamental mode syntax table.
8126 You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial field names or
8129 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
8130 FIELD and VALUE can also be lisp symbols, in that case they are expanded
8131 as specified by the variable @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is
8132 an alist of cons cells, where the car of the cells contains the key, and
8133 the cdr contains a string.
8135 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
8136 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
8137 when all this splitting is performed.
8140 @node Mail and Procmail
8141 @subsection Mail and Procmail
8146 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
8147 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
8148 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
8149 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
8150 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
8152 This also means that you probably don't want to set
8153 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
8156 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
8157 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
8158 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends (except
8159 @code{nnmh}) actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
8160 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
8161 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
8163 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) what groups
8166 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example.
8168 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
8169 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
8171 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
8172 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
8173 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
8174 to include all your mail groups.
8176 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
8177 method will be created automatically.
8179 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
8180 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
8181 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
8182 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
8183 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
8184 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
8185 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
8186 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
8188 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
8189 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
8190 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
8191 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
8192 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
8194 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8195 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directory into an @code{nnmh}
8196 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
8197 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
8198 ever expiring the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is quite,
8202 @node Incorporating Old Mail
8203 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
8205 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
8206 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
8207 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
8210 Doing so can be quite easy.
8212 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
8213 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
8214 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
8215 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
8216 your @code{nnml} groups.
8222 Go to the group buffer.
8225 Type `G f' and give the path of the mbox file when prompted to create an
8226 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8229 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
8232 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group (@pxref{Setting
8236 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
8237 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
8240 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
8241 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
8242 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
8243 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
8244 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
8246 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
8247 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
8248 using the new mail backend.
8252 @subsection Expiring Mail
8253 @cindex article expiry
8255 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
8256 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
8257 different approach to mail reading.
8259 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
8260 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
8261 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
8262 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
8263 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
8264 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
8267 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
8268 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
8269 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
8270 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
8271 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
8272 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
8273 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
8274 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
8276 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8277 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
8278 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
8279 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
8280 articles that are marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
8281 column in the summary buffer.
8283 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
8284 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
8287 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
8288 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
8291 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
8292 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
8294 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
8295 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
8296 expirable article has to live. The default is seven days.
8298 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
8299 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
8300 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
8301 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
8304 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8306 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
8308 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
8310 ((string= group "mail.junk")
8312 ((string= group "important")
8318 The group names that this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
8319 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
8321 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
8322 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can be either a number (not
8323 necessarily an integer) or the symbols @code{immediate} or
8326 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
8327 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
8329 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
8330 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
8331 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
8332 easier for procmail users.
8334 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
8335 By the way, that line up there about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
8336 articles is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
8337 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
8338 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
8339 caution. Even more dangerous is the
8340 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
8341 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
8342 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
8343 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
8344 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
8345 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
8346 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
8351 @subsection Duplicates
8353 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
8354 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
8355 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
8356 @cindex duplicate mails
8357 If you are a member of a couple of mailing list, you will sometime
8358 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
8359 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
8360 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s -
8361 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
8362 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
8363 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
8364 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
8365 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
8366 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
8367 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
8368 will generate a brand new @code{Message-ID} for the mail and insert a
8369 warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks that this is a
8370 duplicate of a different message.
8372 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
8373 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
8374 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
8375 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
8377 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
8380 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
8381 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
8385 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
8386 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
8387 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
8388 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
8389 (any mail "mail.misc")
8396 (setq nnmail-split-methods
8397 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
8402 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
8403 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
8404 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
8405 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
8406 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
8409 @node Not Reading Mail
8410 @subsection Not Reading Mail
8412 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
8413 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
8414 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
8416 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
8417 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
8419 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8420 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8421 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8422 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8423 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8424 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
8425 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
8426 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
8427 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
8428 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
8429 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
8431 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
8432 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
8436 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
8437 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
8439 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
8440 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
8441 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
8444 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
8445 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
8446 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
8447 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
8448 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
8453 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
8455 @cindex unix mail box
8457 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8458 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8459 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
8460 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
8461 which group it belongs in.
8463 Virtual server settings:
8466 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
8467 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
8468 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
8470 @item nnmbox-active-file
8471 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
8472 The name of the active file for the mail box.
8474 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
8475 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
8476 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
8482 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
8486 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8487 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8488 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
8489 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
8490 article to say which group it belongs in.
8492 Virtual server settings:
8495 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
8496 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
8497 The name of the rmail mbox file.
8499 @item nnbabyl-active-file
8500 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
8501 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
8503 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8504 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
8505 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
8510 @subsubsection Mail Spool
8512 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
8514 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
8515 format. It should be used with some caution.
8517 @vindex nnml-directory
8518 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files;
8519 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the correct
8520 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
8521 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
8523 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
8526 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
8527 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
8528 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
8529 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
8530 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
8531 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
8532 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
8533 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
8535 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
8536 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
8537 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes is the fastest
8538 backend when it comes to reading mail.
8540 Virtual server settings:
8543 @item nnml-directory
8544 @vindex nnml-directory
8545 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
8547 @item nnml-active-file
8548 @vindex nnml-active-file
8549 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
8551 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
8552 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
8553 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
8556 @item nnml-get-new-mail
8557 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
8558 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
8560 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
8561 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
8562 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
8564 @item nnml-nov-file-name
8565 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
8566 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
8568 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8569 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
8570 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
8574 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
8575 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
8576 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
8577 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
8578 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
8579 might take a while to complete.
8583 @subsubsection MH Spool
8585 @cindex mh-e mail spool
8587 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
8588 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
8589 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
8590 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
8592 Virtual server settings:
8595 @item nnmh-directory
8596 @vindex nnmh-directory
8597 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
8599 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
8600 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
8601 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
8604 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
8605 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
8606 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
8607 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
8608 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
8609 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
8610 to set this variable to @code{t}.
8615 @subsubsection Mail Folders
8617 @cindex mbox folders
8618 @cindex mail folders
8620 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
8621 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
8622 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
8625 Virtual server settings:
8628 @item nnfolder-directory
8629 @vindex nnfolder-directory
8630 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
8632 @item nnfolder-active-file
8633 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
8634 The name of the active file.
8636 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8637 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
8638 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
8640 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
8641 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
8642 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
8645 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
8646 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
8647 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
8648 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
8649 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
8650 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
8654 @section Other Sources
8656 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
8657 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
8661 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
8662 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
8663 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
8664 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
8665 * DejaNews Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
8666 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
8670 @node Directory Groups
8671 @subsection Directory Groups
8673 @cindex directory groups
8675 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
8676 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
8679 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp}, that most
8680 wonderful of all wonderful Emacs packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I
8681 didn't think much about it---a backend to read directories. Big deal.
8683 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
8684 enter @file{"/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/"} as the the
8685 directory name, ange-ftp will actually allow you to read this directory
8686 over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
8688 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
8690 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
8691 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
8692 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
8693 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
8696 @node Anything Groups
8697 @subsection Anything Groups
8700 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
8701 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
8702 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
8705 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
8706 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
8707 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
8708 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
8709 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
8710 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
8711 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
8712 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (eg. a C source
8713 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
8714 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
8717 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
8718 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
8719 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
8720 in the article buffer, just as usual.
8722 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
8723 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
8724 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
8725 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
8727 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
8728 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
8729 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
8730 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
8731 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
8732 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
8733 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
8734 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
8739 @item nneething-map-file-directory
8740 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
8741 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
8742 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
8744 @item nneething-exclude-files
8745 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
8746 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
8747 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
8749 @item nneething-map-file
8750 @vindex nneething-map-file
8751 Name of the map files.
8755 @node Document Groups
8756 @subsection Document Groups
8758 @cindex documentation group
8761 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
8762 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
8769 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
8774 The standard Unix mbox file.
8776 @cindex MMDF mail box
8778 The MMDF mail box format.
8781 Several news articles appended into a file.
8784 @cindex rnews batch files
8785 The rnews batch transport format.
8786 @cindex forwarded messages
8795 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
8796 @cindex RFC 341 digest
8797 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
8799 @item standard-digest
8800 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
8803 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
8806 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
8807 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
8808 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
8811 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
8812 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
8813 group. And that's it.
8815 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
8816 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
8817 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
8818 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
8819 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
8820 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
8821 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
8822 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
8823 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
8824 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
8826 Virtual server variables:
8829 @item nndoc-article-type
8830 @vindex nndoc-article-type
8831 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
8832 @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{news}, @code{rnews},
8833 @code{mime-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, or @code{guess}.
8835 @item nndoc-post-type
8836 @vindex nndoc-post-type
8837 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
8838 a mail group. There are two legal values: @code{mail} (the default)
8843 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
8847 @node Document Server Internals
8848 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
8850 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
8851 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
8852 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
8853 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
8855 First, here's an example document type definition:
8859 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
8860 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
8863 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
8864 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
8865 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
8866 types can be defined with very few settings:
8870 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
8871 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
8875 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
8876 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
8878 @item head-begin-function
8879 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
8882 @item nndoc-head-begin
8883 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
8886 @item nndoc-head-end
8887 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
8888 @samp{"^$"}---the empty line.
8890 @item body-begin-function
8891 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
8895 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
8898 @item body-end-function
8899 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
8903 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
8905 @item nndoc-file-end
8906 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
8907 regexp will be totally ignored.
8911 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
8912 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
8913 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
8914 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
8915 something that's palatable for Gnus:
8918 @item prepare-body-function
8919 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
8920 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
8921 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
8923 @item article-transform-function
8924 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
8925 meant to be used how more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
8926 body of the article.
8928 @item generate-head-function
8929 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
8930 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
8931 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
8932 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
8936 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
8941 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
8942 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
8943 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
8944 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
8946 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
8947 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
8948 (subtype digest guess))
8951 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
8952 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
8953 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
8954 the head from the body may contain a single spcae; and that the body is
8955 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
8957 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
8958 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
8959 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
8960 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
8961 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for each
8962 type. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
8963 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
8964 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
8965 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
8966 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
8967 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest legal number.
8975 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
8976 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
8977 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
8979 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
8980 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
8981 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
8984 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
8985 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
8986 that interested in doing things properly.
8988 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
8989 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
8995 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
8996 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie, or you can use Gnus to create the
8997 packet with the @kbd{O s} command.
9000 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
9003 You put the packet in your home directory.
9006 You fire up Gnus using the @code{nnsoup} backend as the native server.
9009 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
9013 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
9017 You transfer this packet to the server.
9020 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
9023 You then repeat until you die.
9027 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
9028 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
9031 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
9032 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
9033 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
9038 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
9042 @kindex G s b (Group)
9043 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
9044 Pack all unread articles in the current group
9045 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
9046 process/prefix convention.
9049 @kindex G s w (Group)
9050 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
9051 Save all data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
9054 @kindex G s s (Group)
9055 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
9056 Send all replies from the replies packet
9057 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
9060 @kindex G s p (Group)
9061 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
9062 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
9065 @kindex G s r (Group)
9066 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
9067 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
9070 @kindex O s (Summary)
9071 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
9072 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
9073 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
9079 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
9084 @item gnus-soup-directory
9085 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
9086 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
9087 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
9089 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
9090 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
9091 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
9092 reply packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/}.
9094 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
9095 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
9096 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
9099 @item gnus-soup-packer
9100 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
9101 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9102 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
9104 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
9105 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
9106 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
9107 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9109 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
9110 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
9111 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
9113 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9114 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
9115 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
9116 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
9122 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
9125 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
9126 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
9127 you can read them at leisure.
9129 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
9133 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
9134 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
9135 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
9136 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
9138 @item nnsoup-directory
9139 @vindex nnsoup-directory
9140 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
9141 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
9143 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
9144 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
9145 All replies will stored in this directory before being packed into a
9146 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
9148 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
9149 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
9150 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
9151 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
9152 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
9154 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
9155 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
9156 The index type of the replies packet. The is @samp{?n}, which means
9157 ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
9159 @item nnsoup-active-file
9160 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
9161 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
9162 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
9163 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
9164 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
9167 @vindex nnsoup-packer
9168 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
9169 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
9171 @item nnsoup-unpacker
9172 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
9173 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
9174 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
9176 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
9177 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
9178 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
9181 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
9182 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
9183 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
9190 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
9192 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
9193 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
9194 more for that to happen.
9196 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
9197 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
9198 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
9201 In specific, this is what it does:
9204 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
9205 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
9208 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
9209 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
9210 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
9213 @node DejaNews Searches
9214 @subsection DejaNews Searches
9217 @cindex Usenet searches
9218 @cindex searching the Usenet
9220 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
9221 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
9222 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
9223 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
9224 searches without having to use a browser.
9226 The @code{nndejagnus} (hey, I wonder if they're going to sue me over
9227 copyright infringement?) backend allows an easy interface to the mighty
9228 search engine. You create an @code{nndejagnus} group, enter a search
9229 pattern, and then enter the group and read the articles like you would
9230 any normal group. The @kbd{G n} command in the group buffer
9231 (@pxref{Foreign Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
9233 @code{nndejagnus} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
9234 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
9235 each time you enter an @code{nndejagnus} group (not changing the search
9236 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
9237 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@code{Duplicate
9238 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nndejagnus} doesn't even know the
9239 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them. The only
9240 possible way to keep track of which articles you've read is by scoring
9241 on the @code{Date} header---mark all articles that were posted before
9242 the last date you read the group as read.
9244 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
9245 to use @code{nndejagnus}.
9247 Virtual server variables:
9250 @item nndejagnus-address
9251 @vindex nndejagnus-address
9252 The address of the DejaNews search engine. The default is
9253 @samp{http://www.dejagnus.com}.
9255 @item nndejagnus-search
9256 @vindex nndejagnus-search
9257 The search string to feed to DejaNews.
9259 @item nndejagnus-max-hits
9260 @vindex nndejagnus-max-hits
9261 Maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is 100.
9266 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
9267 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
9268 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
9271 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
9272 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
9273 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
9275 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
9281 @item nngateway-address
9282 @vindex nngateway-address
9283 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
9285 @item nngateway-header-transformation
9286 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
9287 News headers have often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
9288 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
9289 transformation should be called, and defaults to
9290 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
9291 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
9294 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
9295 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address---an article with this
9296 @code{Newsgroups} header:
9299 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
9302 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
9305 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
9310 So, to use this, simply say something like:
9313 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
9317 @node Combined Groups
9318 @section Combined Groups
9320 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
9324 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
9325 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
9329 @node Virtual Groups
9330 @subsection Virtual Groups
9332 @cindex virtual groups
9334 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
9337 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small group, you can
9338 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
9339 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
9341 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
9342 regexp to match component groups.
9344 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
9345 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
9346 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
9347 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
9350 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
9351 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
9354 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
9357 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
9358 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
9360 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
9361 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
9362 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
9363 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
9366 "^nntp+some.server.jp:soc.motss$\\|^nntp+some.server.no:soc.motss$"
9369 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
9370 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
9371 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
9372 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
9373 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}.
9375 One limitation, however---all groups that are included in a virtual
9376 group has to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
9377 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
9379 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
9380 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
9381 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
9382 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
9383 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
9384 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
9385 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
9386 effect if you have two virtual groups that contain the same component
9387 group. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
9388 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
9389 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
9392 @node Kibozed Groups
9393 @subsection Kibozed Groups
9397 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
9398 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
9399 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
9400 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
9403 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
9406 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
9407 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
9408 @code{nnkiboze} group. There most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
9409 and @code{nnvirtual} ends.
9411 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
9412 must have a score file to say what articles that are to be included in
9413 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
9415 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
9416 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
9417 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
9418 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
9419 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
9420 all the articles in all the components groups and run them through the
9421 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
9422 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
9424 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
9425 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
9426 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
9427 Stranger things have happened.
9429 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
9430 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
9432 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
9433 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
9434 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
9435 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
9436 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
9437 on what groups that have been searched through to find component
9440 Articles that are marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have their
9441 @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
9448 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
9449 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
9450 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
9453 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
9454 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
9455 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
9456 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
9457 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
9459 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
9460 before generating the summary buffer.
9462 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
9463 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
9464 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
9466 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
9467 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
9468 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
9469 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
9472 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
9473 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
9474 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
9475 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
9476 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
9477 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus @emph{knows} what you read.
9478 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
9479 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
9480 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
9481 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
9482 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
9483 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
9484 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
9485 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
9486 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
9490 @node Summary Score Commands
9491 @section Summary Score Commands
9492 @cindex score commands
9494 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
9495 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
9496 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
9497 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
9498 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
9500 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
9501 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
9502 some other score file (eg. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
9503 score file the current one.
9505 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
9510 @kindex V s (Summary)
9511 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
9512 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
9515 @kindex V S (Summary)
9516 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
9517 Display the score of the current article
9518 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
9521 @kindex V t (Summary)
9522 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
9523 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
9524 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
9527 @cindex V R (Summary)
9528 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
9529 Run the current summary through the scoring process
9530 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
9531 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
9532 effect you're having.
9535 @kindex V a (Summary)
9536 @findex gnus-summary-score-entry
9537 Add a new score entry, and allow specifying all elements
9538 (@code{gnus-summary-score-entry}).
9541 @kindex V c (Summary)
9542 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
9543 Make a different score file the current
9544 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
9547 @kindex V e (Summary)
9548 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
9549 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
9550 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
9554 @kindex V f (Summary)
9555 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
9556 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
9557 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
9560 @kindex V F (Summary)
9561 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
9562 Flush the score cahe (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
9563 after editing score files.
9566 @kindex V C (Summary)
9567 @findex gnus-score-customize
9568 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
9569 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
9572 @kindex I C-i (Summary)
9573 @findex gnus-summary-raise-score
9574 Increase the score of the current article
9575 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-score}).
9578 @kindex L C-l (Summary)
9579 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
9580 Lower the score of the current article
9581 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-score}).
9584 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
9589 @kindex V m (Summary)
9590 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
9591 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
9592 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
9595 @kindex V x (Summary)
9596 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
9597 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
9598 expunge all articles below this score
9599 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
9602 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
9603 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
9608 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
9609 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
9611 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
9616 Score on the author name.
9619 Score on the subject line.
9622 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
9625 Score on thread---the References line.
9631 Score on the number of lines.
9634 Score on the Message-ID.
9647 The third key is the match type. Which match types are legal depends on
9648 what headers you are scoring on.
9692 Greater than number.
9697 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
9698 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
9699 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
9703 Temporary score entry.
9706 Permanent score entry.
9709 Immediately scoring.
9714 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
9715 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
9716 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
9717 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
9719 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
9720 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
9721 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
9722 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
9723 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
9725 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
9726 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
9727 pretend they are keymaps or not.
9730 @node Group Score Commands
9731 @section Group Score Commands
9732 @cindex group score commands
9734 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
9740 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
9741 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
9742 all the time. This command will flush the cache
9743 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
9748 @node Score Variables
9749 @section Score Variables
9750 @cindex score variables
9754 @item gnus-use-scoring
9755 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
9756 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
9757 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
9759 @item gnus-kill-killed
9760 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
9761 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
9762 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
9763 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
9764 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
9765 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
9766 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
9768 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
9769 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
9770 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
9771 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
9772 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
9774 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
9775 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
9776 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
9777 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
9779 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9780 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
9782 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
9783 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
9784 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files that are
9785 unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
9786 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
9787 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
9788 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
9791 @item gnus-save-score
9792 @vindex gnus-save-score
9793 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
9794 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
9795 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
9797 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9798 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
9799 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
9800 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
9801 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
9802 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
9803 manually entered data.
9805 @item gnus-summary-default-score
9806 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
9807 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
9809 @item gnus-score-over-mark
9810 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
9811 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
9812 default. Default is @samp{+}.
9814 @item gnus-score-below-mark
9815 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
9816 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
9817 default. Default is @samp{-}.
9819 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9820 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
9821 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
9822 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
9824 Predefined functions available are:
9827 @item gnus-score-find-single
9828 @findex gnus-score-find-single
9829 Only apply the group's own score file.
9831 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
9832 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
9833 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
9834 default. For instance, if the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus},
9835 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
9836 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
9837 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
9838 then a regexp match is done.
9840 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
9841 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
9843 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
9844 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
9845 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
9846 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE} or @file{all.emacs.SCORE},
9847 but you can have @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and
9848 @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
9851 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
9852 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
9853 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
9854 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
9855 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
9856 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
9859 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
9860 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
9861 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
9862 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
9863 are expired. It's 7 by default.
9865 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
9866 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
9867 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
9868 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
9869 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
9870 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
9871 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
9874 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
9875 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
9876 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
9881 @node Score File Format
9882 @section Score File Format
9883 @cindex score file format
9885 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
9886 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
9887 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
9889 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
9893 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
9895 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
9897 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
9899 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
9904 (mark-and-expunge -10)
9908 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
9909 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
9910 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
9911 (gnus-summary-make-false-root 'empty))
9915 This example demonstrates absolutely everything about a score file.
9917 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
9918 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
9919 has to be legal syntactically, if not semantically.
9921 Six keys are supported by this alist:
9926 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
9927 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
9928 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
9929 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
9930 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
9931 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
9932 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
9933 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
9934 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
9935 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
9936 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
9937 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
9938 to articles that matches these score entries.
9940 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
9941 score entry has one to four elements.
9945 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
9946 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
9950 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
9951 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
9952 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
9953 is successful. If this element is not present, the
9954 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
9955 instead. This is 1000 by default.
9958 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
9959 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
9960 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
9961 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
9962 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 ce.
9965 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
9966 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
9967 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
9968 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
9971 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
9972 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
9973 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
9974 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
9975 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
9976 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
9977 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
9978 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
9979 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
9980 instead, if you feel like.
9983 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
9984 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
9987 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
9988 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
9989 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
9990 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
9991 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
9992 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
9993 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
9995 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
9996 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
9997 ISO8601 compact format first, which looks like @samp{YYYYMMDDTHHMMSS}.
9998 If you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
9999 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
10000 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
10001 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
10002 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
10005 @item Head, Body, All
10006 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
10010 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that followup to
10011 some author. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header uses.
10014 This match key will add a score entry on all articles that are part of
10015 a thread. Uses the same match types as the @code{References} header
10021 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10022 lower than this number will be marked as read.
10025 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10026 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
10028 @item mark-and-expunge
10029 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
10030 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
10033 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
10034 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
10035 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
10036 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
10037 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
10040 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
10041 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
10044 @item exclude-files
10045 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. This files will
10046 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
10050 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
10051 ignored when handling global score files.
10054 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
10055 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}).
10058 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
10059 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
10060 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
10061 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
10063 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
10067 (mark-and-expunge -100)
10070 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
10071 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
10072 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
10073 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
10074 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
10076 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
10077 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
10078 ordinary scoring rules.
10081 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
10082 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
10083 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
10084 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
10085 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
10086 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
10087 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10088 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
10089 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
10090 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
10091 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
10095 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
10096 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
10097 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
10098 file for a number of groups.
10101 @cindex local variables
10102 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
10103 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
10104 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
10105 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
10110 @node Score File Editing
10111 @section Score File Editing
10113 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
10114 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
10115 with a mode for that.
10117 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
10118 additional commands:
10123 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
10124 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
10125 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
10126 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
10129 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
10130 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
10131 Insert the current date in numerical format
10132 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
10133 you were wondering.
10136 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
10137 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
10138 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
10139 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
10140 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
10145 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
10147 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
10148 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
10150 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
10151 e} to begin editing score files.
10154 @node Adaptive Scoring
10155 @section Adaptive Scoring
10156 @cindex adaptive scoring
10158 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
10159 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
10160 stupidity, to be precise.
10162 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
10163 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
10164 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
10165 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
10166 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
10167 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
10168 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
10169 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
10170 variable to @code{(word line)}.
10172 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10173 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
10174 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
10175 might look something like this:
10178 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
10179 '((gnus-unread-mark)
10180 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
10181 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
10182 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
10183 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
10184 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
10185 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
10186 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
10187 (gnus-ancient-mark)
10188 (gnus-low-score-mark)
10189 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
10192 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
10193 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
10194 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
10195 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
10196 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
10197 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
10200 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
10201 will be applied to each article.
10203 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
10204 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
10205 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
10206 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
10208 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
10209 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
10210 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
10211 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
10213 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
10214 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
10215 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
10216 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
10217 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
10218 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
10220 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
10221 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
10222 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
10223 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
10224 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
10225 aspirins afterwards.)
10227 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
10228 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
10229 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
10231 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
10232 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
10233 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
10235 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
10236 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
10237 let you use different rules in different groups.
10239 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
10240 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
10241 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
10244 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
10245 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
10246 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
10247 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
10248 the length of the match is less than
10249 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
10250 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
10253 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10254 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
10255 headers. If you adapt on words, the
10256 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
10257 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
10260 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
10261 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
10262 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
10263 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
10264 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
10267 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
10268 word that appears in subjects of articles that are marked with
10269 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
10270 score with 30 points.
10272 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
10273 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list will be
10276 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
10277 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
10278 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
10281 @node Home Score File
10282 @section Home Score File
10284 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
10285 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
10286 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
10287 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
10289 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
10290 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
10291 could perhaps use the same home score file.
10293 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
10294 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
10299 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
10303 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
10304 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
10308 A list. The elements in this list can be:
10312 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
10313 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
10316 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
10317 the home score file.
10320 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
10323 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
10328 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
10331 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10332 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
10335 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
10336 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
10339 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10340 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
10343 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
10345 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
10346 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
10347 their own home score files:
10350 (setq gnus-home-score-file
10351 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
10352 '("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
10353 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
10354 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE"))
10357 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
10358 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
10359 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
10360 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
10361 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
10363 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
10364 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
10365 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
10366 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
10367 presedence over this variable.
10370 @node Followups To Yourself
10371 @section Followups To Yourself
10373 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
10374 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
10375 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
10376 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
10377 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
10378 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
10382 @item gnus-score-followup-article
10383 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
10384 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
10387 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
10388 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
10389 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
10393 @vindex message-sent-hook
10394 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
10395 @code{message-sent-hook}.
10397 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
10398 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
10402 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10403 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
10406 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
10407 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
10412 "<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf@.*eyesore.no>" 1000 nil r)
10415 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
10416 is system-dependent.
10420 @section Scoring Tips
10421 @cindex scoring tips
10427 @cindex scoring crossposts
10428 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
10429 the @code{Xref} header.
10431 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
10434 @item Multiple crossposts
10435 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
10436 more than, say, 3 groups:
10438 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
10441 @item Matching on the body
10442 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
10443 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
10444 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
10445 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
10446 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
10447 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
10448 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
10451 @item Marking as read
10452 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
10453 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
10454 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
10458 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
10460 @item Negated character classes
10461 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
10462 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
10463 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
10467 @node Reverse Scoring
10468 @section Reverse Scoring
10469 @cindex reverse scoring
10471 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
10472 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
10473 like this in your score file:
10477 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
10482 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
10483 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
10486 @node Global Score Files
10487 @section Global Score Files
10488 @cindex global score files
10490 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
10491 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
10492 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
10494 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
10495 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
10496 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
10498 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
10499 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
10500 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
10501 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
10502 files are applicable to which group.
10504 Say you want to use all score files in the
10505 @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory and the single score
10506 file @file{/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE}:
10509 (setq gnus-global-score-files
10510 '("/ftp@@ftp.ifi.uio.no:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
10511 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
10514 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
10515 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
10516 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
10517 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
10518 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
10520 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
10521 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
10523 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
10524 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
10525 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
10526 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
10527 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
10528 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
10530 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
10536 Articles that are heavily crossposted are probably junk.
10538 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
10540 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
10542 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
10543 lowered out of existence.
10545 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
10546 articles completely.
10549 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
10550 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
10551 old articles for a long time.
10554 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
10555 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
10556 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
10557 holding our breath yet?
10561 @section Kill Files
10564 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
10565 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
10566 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
10568 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
10569 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
10570 files into score files.
10572 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
10573 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
10574 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
10575 that isn't a very good idea.
10577 XCNormal kill files look like this:
10580 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10581 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
10585 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove them from
10586 the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
10588 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
10589 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
10592 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
10597 @kindex M-k (Summary)
10598 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
10599 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
10602 @kindex M-K (Summary)
10603 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
10604 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
10607 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
10612 @kindex M-k (Group)
10613 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
10614 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
10617 @kindex M-K (Group)
10618 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
10619 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
10622 Kill file variables:
10625 @item gnus-kill-file-name
10626 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
10627 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
10628 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
10629 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
10630 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
10631 course) is called just @file{KILL}.
10633 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10634 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
10635 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
10636 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
10639 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
10640 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
10641 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
10642 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
10643 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
10644 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
10645 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
10646 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
10647 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
10649 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10650 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
10651 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
10660 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
10661 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
10662 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
10664 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
10665 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
10666 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
10667 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
10668 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
10669 Once it has found for you some people you agree with it tells you, in
10670 the form of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use
10671 this prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
10675 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
10676 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
10677 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
10678 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
10682 @node Using GroupLens
10683 @subsection Using GroupLens
10685 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
10686 Bit Bureau (BBB). At the moment the only better bit in town is at
10687 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html}.
10689 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
10693 @item gnus-use-grouplens
10694 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
10695 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
10696 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
10698 @item grouplens-pseudonym
10699 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
10700 This variable should be set to the pseudonum you got when registering
10701 with the Better Bit Bureau.
10703 @item grouplens-newsgroups
10704 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
10705 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
10709 Thats the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
10710 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
10711 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
10712 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
10713 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
10714 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
10717 @node Rating Articles
10718 @subsection Rating Articles
10720 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
10721 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
10722 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
10723 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
10726 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
10731 @kindex r (GroupLens)
10732 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
10733 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
10736 @kindex k (GroupLens)
10737 @findex grouplens-score-thread
10738 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
10739 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
10740 threads in rec.humor.
10744 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
10745 the score of the article you're reading.
10750 @kindex n (GroupLens)
10751 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
10752 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
10755 @kindex , (GroupLens)
10756 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
10757 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
10761 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
10762 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
10765 @node Displaying Predictions
10766 @subsection Displaying Predictions
10768 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
10769 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
10770 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
10771 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
10772 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
10774 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
10775 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
10776 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
10777 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
10778 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
10779 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
10780 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
10781 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
10782 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
10783 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
10784 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
10785 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
10786 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
10788 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
10789 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
10790 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
10791 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
10793 The following are legal values for that variable.
10796 @item prediction-spot
10797 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
10800 @item confidence-interval
10801 A numeric confidence interval.
10803 @item prediction-bar
10804 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
10806 @item confidence-bar
10807 Numerical confidence.
10809 @item confidence-spot
10810 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
10812 @item prediction-num
10813 Plain-old numeric value.
10815 @item confidence-plus-minus
10816 Prediction +/i confidence.
10821 @node GroupLens Variables
10822 @subsection GroupLens Variables
10826 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
10827 The summary line format used in summary buffers that are GroupLens
10828 enhanced. It accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format
10829 (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}). The default is
10830 @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
10832 @item grouplens-bbb-host
10833 Host running the bbbd server. The default is
10834 @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu}.
10836 @item grouplens-bbb-port
10837 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
10839 @item grouplens-score-offset
10840 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
10841 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
10844 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
10845 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
10846 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
10851 @node Advanced Scoring
10852 @section Advanced Scoring
10854 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
10855 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
10856 about a particular subject? Or what about if you really don't want to
10857 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
10858 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
10860 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
10864 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
10865 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
10866 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
10870 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
10871 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
10873 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
10874 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
10875 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
10876 non-@code{nil} value.
10878 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
10879 operator, and various match operators.
10886 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
10887 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
10888 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
10893 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
10894 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
10895 then this operator will return @code{false}.
10900 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
10901 inverse of the value of its argument.
10905 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
10906 apply to the ancenstors of the current article being scored. For
10907 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
10908 current article. @code{2-} will make score fules apply to the
10909 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
10910 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) say how far back into
10911 the ancestry you want to go.
10913 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
10914 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
10915 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
10916 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
10917 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
10920 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
10921 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
10923 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
10924 when he's talking about Gnus:
10928 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10929 ("subject" "Gnus"))
10935 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
10939 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10946 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
10947 really don't want to read what he's written:
10951 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10952 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
10956 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
10957 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
10958 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
10965 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
10966 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
10967 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
10968 ("body" "white.*socks"))
10972 The possibilities are endless.
10975 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
10976 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
10978 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
10979 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
10980 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
10981 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
10982 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
10983 (@samp{body}, @code{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
10984 @samp{subject}) first.
10986 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
10987 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
10998 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
10999 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
11005 ("subject" "Gnus")))
11012 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
11013 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
11018 @section Score Decays
11019 @cindex score decays
11022 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
11023 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
11024 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
11025 use them in any sensible way.
11027 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
11028 @findex gnus-decay-score
11029 @vindex gnus-score-decay-function
11030 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
11031 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
11032 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
11033 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
11034 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-score-decay-function}
11035 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
11036 definition of that function:
11039 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
11042 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
11044 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
11046 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
11049 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
11050 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
11051 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
11052 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
11056 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
11059 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
11062 Scores with magnutudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
11066 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
11067 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
11068 the new score, which should be an integer.
11070 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
11071 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
11078 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
11079 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
11080 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
11081 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
11082 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
11083 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
11084 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
11085 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
11086 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
11087 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
11088 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
11089 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
11090 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
11094 @node Process/Prefix
11095 @section Process/Prefix
11096 @cindex process/prefix convention
11098 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
11099 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
11101 This is a method for figuring out what articles that the user wants the
11102 command to be performed on.
11106 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
11107 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
11108 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
11109 with the current one.
11111 @vindex transient-mark-mode
11112 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
11113 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
11115 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
11116 process mark, perform the operation on the articles that are marked with
11119 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
11120 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
11122 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
11125 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
11126 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
11127 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
11128 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11130 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
11131 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
11132 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
11133 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
11134 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
11135 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
11136 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
11137 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
11141 @section Interactive
11142 @cindex interaction
11146 @item gnus-novice-user
11147 @vindex gnus-novice-user
11148 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
11149 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
11150 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
11151 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
11154 @item gnus-expert-user
11155 @vindex gnus-expert-user
11156 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will never ever be asked any
11157 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
11158 matter how strange.
11160 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
11161 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
11162 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
11163 is @code{t} by default.
11165 @item gnus-interactive-exit
11166 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
11167 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
11172 @node Formatting Variables
11173 @section Formatting Variables
11174 @cindex formatting variables
11176 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables that
11177 are called things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
11178 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
11179 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
11180 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
11183 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
11184 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
11185 lots of percentages everywhere.
11188 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
11189 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
11190 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
11191 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
11194 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
11195 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
11196 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
11197 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
11198 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
11199 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
11200 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
11201 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
11203 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
11204 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
11206 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
11207 @findex gnus-update-format
11208 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
11209 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
11210 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
11211 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
11215 @node Formatting Basics
11216 @subsection Formatting Basics
11218 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
11219 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
11220 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
11222 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
11223 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
11224 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
11225 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
11226 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
11229 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
11230 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
11231 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
11232 less than 4 characters wide.
11235 @node Advanced Formatting
11236 @subsection Advanced Formatting
11238 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
11239 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
11240 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
11241 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
11243 These are the legal modifiers:
11248 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
11252 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
11257 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
11260 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
11265 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
11268 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
11271 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
11274 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
11278 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
11279 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
11280 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
11281 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
11282 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
11283 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
11284 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
11286 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
11287 last operation, padding.
11289 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
11290 quite slow. This can be helped enourmously by running @kbd{M-x
11291 gnus-compile} when you are setisfied with the look of your lines.
11292 @xref{Compilation}.
11295 @node User-Defined Specs
11296 @subsection User-Defined Specs
11298 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
11299 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
11300 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
11301 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
11302 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
11303 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
11304 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
11305 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
11306 should protect against that.
11308 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
11309 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
11310 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
11311 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
11315 @node Formatting Fonts
11316 @subsection Formatting Fonts
11318 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
11319 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
11320 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
11321 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
11324 Text inside the @samp{%[} and @samp{%]} specifiers will have their
11325 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
11326 default. If you say @samp{%1[} instead, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1}
11327 instead, and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes
11328 for the @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
11329 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
11331 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
11334 ;; Create three face types.
11335 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
11336 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
11338 ;; We want the article count to be in
11339 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
11340 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
11341 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
11343 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
11344 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
11346 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
11347 (setq gnus-group-line-format
11348 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
11351 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
11352 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
11354 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
11355 mode-line variables.
11358 @node Windows Configuration
11359 @section Windows Configuration
11360 @cindex windows configuration
11362 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
11364 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
11365 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
11366 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
11367 @code{t} by default.
11369 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
11370 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
11371 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
11374 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
11375 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
11376 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11380 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
11381 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
11382 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
11383 possible names is listed below.
11385 The @dfn{value} (i. e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
11386 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
11389 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
11393 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
11394 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
11395 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
11396 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
11397 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
11398 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
11399 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
11400 size spec per split.
11402 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
11405 Here's a more complicated example:
11408 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
11409 (summary 0.25 point)
11410 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
11414 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
11415 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
11416 occupy, not a percentage.
11418 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
11419 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
11420 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
11421 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
11422 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
11425 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
11428 (article (horizontal 1.0
11433 (summary 0.25 point)
11438 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
11439 @code{horizontal} thingie?
11441 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
11442 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
11443 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
11444 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
11445 the screen is to be given to this strip.
11447 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
11448 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
11449 lines from the splits.
11451 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a legal split
11455 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
11456 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
11457 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
11458 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
11459 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] ")"
11460 size = number | frame-params
11461 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
11464 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
11465 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
11466 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
11467 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
11469 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
11470 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
11471 @cindex window height
11472 @cindex window width
11473 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
11474 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
11475 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
11476 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
11477 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
11478 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
11480 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
11481 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
11482 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
11483 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
11485 @findex gnus-configure-frame
11486 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
11487 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
11488 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
11489 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
11490 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
11491 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
11492 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
11493 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
11494 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
11495 configuration list.
11498 (gnus-configure-frame
11502 (article 0.3 point))
11510 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
11511 @code{frame} split:
11514 (gnus-configure-frame
11517 (summary 0.25 point)
11519 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
11520 (user-position . t)
11521 (left . -1) (top . 1))
11526 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
11527 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
11528 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
11529 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
11530 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
11531 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
11534 Here's a list of all possible keys for
11535 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
11537 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
11538 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
11539 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
11540 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
11541 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft},
11542 @code{pipe}, @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}.
11544 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
11545 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
11546 it is desireable to distinguish between the two, something like this
11550 (message (horizontal 1.0
11551 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
11553 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
11558 @findex gnus-add-configuration
11559 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
11560 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
11561 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
11562 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
11565 (gnus-add-configuration
11566 '(article (vertical 1.0
11568 (summary .25 point)
11572 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
11573 @file{.gnus} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
11574 Gnus has been loaded.
11578 @section Compilation
11579 @cindex compilation
11580 @cindex byte-compilation
11582 @findex gnus-compile
11584 Remember all those line format specification variables?
11585 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
11586 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
11587 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
11588 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
11589 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
11592 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
11593 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
11594 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
11595 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
11596 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
11597 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
11598 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
11602 @section Mode Lines
11605 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
11606 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
11607 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
11608 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
11609 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
11610 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
11611 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
11614 @cindex display-time
11616 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
11617 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
11618 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
11619 to display (eg. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
11620 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
11621 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
11622 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
11623 additional elements on the mode line (eg. a clock), you should modify
11626 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
11628 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
11629 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
11631 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
11632 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
11633 (length display-time-string)))))
11636 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
11637 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either.
11640 @node Highlighting and Menus
11641 @section Highlighting and Menus
11643 @cindex highlighting
11646 @vindex gnus-visual
11647 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the prettifying Gnus
11648 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
11649 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
11652 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
11653 following elements are legal, and are all included by default:
11656 @item group-highlight
11657 Do highlights in the group buffer.
11658 @item summary-highlight
11659 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
11660 @item article-highlight
11661 Do highlights in the article buffer.
11663 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
11665 Create menus in the group buffer.
11667 Create menus in the summary buffers.
11669 Create menus in the article buffer.
11671 Create menus in the browse buffer.
11673 Create menus in the server buffer.
11675 Create menus in the score buffers.
11677 Create menus in all buffers.
11680 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
11681 buffers, you could say something like:
11684 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
11687 If you want only highlighting and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
11690 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
11693 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
11694 in all Gnus buffers.
11696 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
11699 @item gnus-mouse-face
11700 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
11701 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
11702 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
11704 @item gnus-display-type
11705 @vindex gnus-display-type
11706 This variable is symbol indicating the display type Emacs is running
11707 under. The symbol should be one of @code{color}, @code{grayscale} or
11708 @code{mono}. If Gnus guesses this display attribute wrongly, either set
11709 this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or set the resource
11710 @code{Emacs.displayType} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
11712 @item gnus-background-mode
11713 @vindex gnus-background-mode
11714 This is a symbol indicating the Emacs background brightness. The symbol
11715 should be one of @code{light} or @code{dark}. If Gnus guesses this
11716 frame attribute wrongly, either set this variable in your @file{~/.emacs} or
11717 set the resource @code{Emacs.backgroundMode} in your @file{~/.Xdefaults}.
11718 `gnus-display-type'.
11721 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
11725 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
11726 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
11727 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
11729 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
11730 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
11731 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
11733 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
11734 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
11735 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
11737 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
11738 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
11739 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
11741 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
11742 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
11743 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
11745 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
11746 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
11747 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
11758 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
11759 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
11760 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
11761 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
11762 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
11766 @vindex gnus-carpal
11767 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
11768 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
11769 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
11774 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
11775 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
11776 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
11778 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
11779 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
11780 Face used on buttons.
11782 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
11783 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
11784 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
11786 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
11787 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
11788 Buttons in the group buffer.
11790 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
11791 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
11792 Buttons in the summary buffer.
11794 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
11795 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
11796 Buttons in the server buffer.
11798 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
11799 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
11800 Buttons in the browse buffer.
11803 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
11804 is either a cons cell where the car contains a text to be displayed and
11805 the cdr contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
11813 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
11814 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
11815 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
11816 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
11817 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
11819 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
11820 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
11821 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
11823 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
11824 been idle for thirty minutes:
11827 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
11830 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
11834 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
11837 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter works together
11838 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
11839 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
11841 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
11842 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
11843 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
11844 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
11846 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
11847 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
11848 @var{idle} minutes.
11850 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
11851 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
11854 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
11855 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
11856 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
11858 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
11859 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
11860 seconds. This is @code{60} by default. If you change that variable,
11861 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
11863 @vindex gnus-use-demon
11864 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
11865 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
11867 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
11868 your @file{.gnus} file:
11870 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
11872 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
11875 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
11876 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
11877 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
11878 Some ready-made functions to do this has been created:
11879 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection}, and
11880 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
11881 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
11883 @findex gnus-demon-init
11884 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
11885 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
11886 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
11887 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
11888 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
11890 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you overdo it. Adding
11891 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
11892 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
11901 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
11902 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
11904 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
11905 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
11906 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
11907 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
11910 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
11911 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
11912 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
11913 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
11915 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
11916 this will make spam disappear.
11918 There are some variables to customize, of course:
11921 @item gnus-use-nocem
11922 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
11923 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
11926 @item gnus-nocem-groups
11927 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
11928 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
11929 default is @code{("alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
11931 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
11932 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
11933 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
11934 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
11935 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;" "jem@@xpat.com;" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
11936 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
11938 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
11941 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
11942 @cindex Chris Lewis
11943 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
11944 usenet abuse than anybody else.
11947 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
11948 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
11949 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
11951 @item jem@@xpat.com;
11953 Jem---Korean despammer who is getting very busy these days.
11955 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
11956 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
11957 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
11960 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
11961 ones you want to listen to.
11963 @item gnus-nocem-directory
11964 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
11965 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
11966 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
11968 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
11969 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
11970 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
11971 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
11972 might then see old spam.
11980 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
11981 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
11982 over your shoulder as you read news.
11985 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
11986 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
11987 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
11988 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
11989 * Picon Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
11994 @subsection Picon Basics
11996 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site
11997 (@samp{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}):
12000 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
12001 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
12002 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
12003 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
12004 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
12005 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
12006 @code{GIF} formats.
12009 Please see the above mentioned web site for instructions on obtaining
12010 and installing the picons databases, or the following ftp site:
12011 @samp{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}.
12013 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12014 Gnus expects picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
12015 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
12018 @node Picon Requirements
12019 @subsection Picon Requirements
12021 To use have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
12022 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
12025 Additionally, you must have @code{xpm} support compiled into XEmacs.
12027 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12028 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you must have
12029 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
12030 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
12034 @subsection Easy Picons
12036 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
12037 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
12040 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
12041 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12042 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-prepare-hook 'gnus-group-display-picons t)
12043 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
12048 @subsection Hard Picons
12050 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
12051 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
12052 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
12053 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
12054 feature, you need to first decide where to display them.
12058 @item gnus-picons-display-where
12059 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12060 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
12061 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
12062 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
12063 @samp{"*scratch*"} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
12064 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
12065 routines---@xref{Windows Configuration}.
12069 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
12070 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
12072 Now that you've made that decision, you need to add the following
12073 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get
12074 displayed at the right time.
12076 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
12077 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
12079 @item gnus-article-display-picons
12080 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12081 Looks up and display the picons for the author and the author's domain
12082 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to
12083 the @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12085 @item gnus-group-display-picons
12086 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12087 Displays picons representing the current group. This function should
12088 be added to the @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook} or to the
12089 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} if @code{gnus-picons-display-where}
12090 is set to @code{article}.
12092 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
12093 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
12094 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
12095 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
12099 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
12100 to the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
12103 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
12107 @node Picon Configuration
12108 @subsection Picon Configuration
12110 The following variables offer further control over how things are
12111 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
12112 don't need to worry about.
12115 @item gnus-picons-database
12116 @vindex gnus-picons-database
12117 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
12118 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
12119 subdirectories. Defaults to @file{/usr/local/faces}.
12121 @item gnus-picons-news-directory
12122 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directory
12123 Sub-directory of the faces database containing the icons for
12126 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
12127 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
12128 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
12129 faces. Defaults to @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc/MISC")}.
12131 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
12132 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
12133 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
12134 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
12135 want to add @samp{unknown} to this list.
12137 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12138 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
12139 The command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
12140 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
12141 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
12142 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
12144 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12145 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
12146 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
12147 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
12149 @item gnus-picons-buffer
12150 @vindex gnus-picons-buffer
12151 The name of the buffer that @code{picons} points to. Defaults to
12152 @samp{*Icon Buffer*}.
12158 @section Moderation
12161 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
12162 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
12163 @samp{larsi@@ifi.uio.no} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
12166 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
12170 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
12173 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
12175 If you are the moderation of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
12180 You split your incoming mail by matching on
12181 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
12182 articles in some mail group---@samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}, for instance.
12185 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
12186 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
12189 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
12190 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
12194 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
12197 (setq gnus-moderatated-groups
12198 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
12202 @node Various Various
12203 @section Various Various
12209 @item gnus-directory
12210 @vindex gnus-directory
12211 All Gnus directories will be initialized from this variable, which
12212 defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or @file{~/News/}
12213 if that variable isn't set.
12215 @item gnus-default-directory
12216 @vindex gnus-default-directory
12217 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
12218 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
12219 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
12220 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
12221 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
12222 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
12225 @vindex gnus-verbose
12226 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
12227 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
12228 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
12229 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
12230 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
12232 @item gnus-verbose-backends
12233 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
12234 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
12235 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
12237 @item nnheader-max-head-length
12238 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
12239 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
12240 as little as possible. This variable (default @code{4096}) specifies
12241 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
12242 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
12243 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
12244 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
12245 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
12248 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12249 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12251 @cindex illegal characters in file names
12252 @cindex characters in file names
12253 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
12254 For instance, if @samp{:} is illegal as a file character in file names
12255 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
12258 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
12262 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
12263 Windows (phooey) systems.
12265 @item gnus-hidden-properties
12266 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
12267 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
12268 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
12269 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
12271 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
12272 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
12273 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
12274 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
12275 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
12277 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
12278 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
12279 String used to separate to shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
12288 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
12289 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
12291 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
12293 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
12298 Not because of victories @*
12301 but for the common sunshine,@*
12303 the largess of the spring.
12306 but for the day's work done@*
12307 as well as I was able;@*
12308 not for a seat upon the dais@*
12309 but at the common table.@*
12314 @chapter Appendices
12317 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
12318 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
12319 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
12320 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
12321 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
12322 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
12323 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
12331 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
12332 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
12334 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
12335 can point your (feh!) web browser to
12336 @file{http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
12337 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
12338 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
12340 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
12341 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)}, is, of course, short for
12342 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
12343 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
12344 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
12345 appropriate name, don't you think?)
12347 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
12348 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
12349 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
12350 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
12352 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
12353 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution.
12355 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'') was
12356 released under the name ``Gnus 5.2''.
12358 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun.
12361 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
12362 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
12363 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
12364 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
12365 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
12366 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
12367 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
12374 What's the point of Gnus?
12376 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
12377 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
12378 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
12379 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
12380 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
12381 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
12382 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
12383 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
12384 keep track of millions of people who post?
12386 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
12387 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
12388 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
12389 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
12390 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
12391 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
12392 everywhere I could imagine useful. By doing so, I'm inviting every one
12393 of you to explore and invent.
12395 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x hail-emacs}.
12398 @node Compatibility
12399 @subsection Compatibility
12401 @cindex compatibility
12402 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
12403 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
12404 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
12409 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
12413 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
12416 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @pxref{Decoding
12419 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
12420 buffers. All variables that are relevant while reading a group are
12421 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
12422 important variables have their values copied into their global
12423 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
12424 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
12426 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
12427 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
12428 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
12429 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
12430 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
12434 @cindex highlighting
12435 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
12436 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
12437 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
12438 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
12439 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
12440 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
12443 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
12444 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
12445 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
12446 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
12448 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
12449 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
12450 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
12451 to stop doing it the old way.
12453 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
12455 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
12457 @cindex reporting bugs
12459 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
12460 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
12461 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
12465 @subsection Conformity
12467 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
12468 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
12475 There are no known breaches of this standard.
12479 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
12481 @item Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
12482 @cindex Good Net-Keeping Seal of Approval
12483 Gnus has been through the Seal process and failed. I think it'll pass
12484 the next inspection.
12486 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
12487 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
12488 We do have some breaches to this one.
12493 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
12494 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
12497 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
12498 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
12499 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
12500 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
12501 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
12504 Gnus does line breaking on this header. I infer from RFC1036 that being
12505 conservative in what you output is not creating 5000-character lines, so
12506 it seems like a good idea to me. However, this standard-to-be says that
12507 whitespace in the @code{References} header is to be preserved, so... It
12508 doesn't matter one way or the other to Gnus, so if somebody tells me
12509 what The Way is, I'll change it. Or not.
12514 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliantly with regards to the texts
12515 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
12520 @subsection Emacsen
12526 Gnus should work on :
12531 Emacs 19.30 and up.
12534 XEmacs 19.13 and up.
12537 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.30 and up.
12541 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
12542 reliably, at least.
12544 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various platforms:
12549 The mouse-face on Gnus lines under Emacs and Mule is delimited to
12550 certain parts of the lines while they cover the entire line under
12554 The same with current-article marking---XEmacs puts an underline under
12555 the entire summary line while Emacs and Mule are nicer and kinder.
12558 XEmacs features more graphics---a logo and a toolbar.
12561 Citation highlighting us better under Emacs and Mule than under XEmacs.
12564 Emacs 19.26-19.28 have tangible hidden headers, which can be a bit
12571 @subsection Contributors
12572 @cindex contributors
12574 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
12575 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
12576 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
12577 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
12578 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
12579 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
12580 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
12581 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
12582 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
12583 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
12585 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
12590 @item Masanobu @sc{Umeda}
12591 The writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
12593 @item Per Abrahamsen
12594 Custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as well as numerous
12597 @item Luis Fernandes
12598 Design and graphics.
12601 @file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on @dfn{picons}
12605 @file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section (@pxref{GroupLens}).
12607 @item Sudish Joseph
12608 Innumerable bug fixes.
12611 @file{gnus-topic.el}.
12613 @item Steven L. Baur
12614 Lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
12616 @item Vladimir Alexiev
12617 The refcard and reference booklets.
12619 @item Felix Lee & JWZ
12620 I stole some pieces from the XGnus distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
12623 @file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
12625 @item Peter Mutsaers
12626 Orphan article scoring code.
12631 @item Hallvard B Furuseth
12632 Various bits and pieces, especially dealing with .newsrc files.
12634 @item Brian Edmonds
12635 @file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
12637 @item Ricardo Nassif and Mark Borges
12640 @item Kevin Davidson
12641 Came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
12645 Peter Arius, Stainless Steel Rat, Ulrik Dickow, Jack Vinson, Daniel
12646 Quinlan, Frank D. Cringle, Geoffrey T. Dairiki, Fabrice Popineau and
12647 Andrew Eskilsson have all contributed code and suggestions.
12651 @subsection New Features
12652 @cindex new features
12657 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
12658 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
12661 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
12662 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
12665 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
12668 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
12669 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
12670 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
12673 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
12674 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
12675 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
12676 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
12679 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
12680 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
12683 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
12684 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
12685 (@pxref{The Active File}).
12688 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
12689 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
12692 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
12693 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
12694 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
12697 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
12698 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
12699 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
12702 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
12703 the @file{.emacs} file.
12706 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
12707 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
12710 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
12711 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
12714 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
12715 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
12718 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
12719 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
12722 Gnus can fetch articles asynchronously on a second connection to the
12723 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
12726 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
12729 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
12730 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
12733 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
12734 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
12737 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
12738 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
12741 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
12744 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
12745 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
12748 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
12752 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
12756 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
12757 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
12760 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
12764 Gnus can use NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
12768 This is, of course, just a @emph{short} overview of the @emph{most}
12769 important new features. No, really. There are tons more. Yes, we have
12770 feeping creaturism in full effect, but nothing too gratuitous, I would
12774 @node Newest Features
12775 @subsection Newest Features
12778 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
12781 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
12785 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
12787 A better and simpler method for specifying mail composing methods.
12789 Allow posting through mail-to-news gateways.
12791 Really do unbinhexing.
12794 And much, much, much more. There is more to come than has already been
12795 implemented. (But that's always true, isn't it?)
12797 @code{<URL:http://www.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/sgnus/todo>} is where the actual
12798 up-to-the-second todo list is located, so if you're really curious, you
12799 could point your Web browser over that-a-way.
12803 @section Terminology
12805 @cindex terminology
12810 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
12811 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
12812 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
12813 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
12814 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
12818 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
12819 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
12820 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
12821 not posting, and replying is not following up.
12825 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
12829 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
12834 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
12835 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
12836 is all done by the backends.
12840 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
12841 default, way of getting news.
12845 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
12846 These are groups that use different backends for getting news.
12850 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
12851 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
12855 A nessage that has been posted as news.
12858 @cindex mail message
12859 A message that has been mailed.
12863 A mail message or news article
12867 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
12872 The rest of an article. Everything that is not in the head is in the
12877 A line from the head of an article.
12881 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
12882 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
12886 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
12887 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
12888 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
12889 normal @sc{head} format.
12893 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
12894 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
12895 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
12896 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
12897 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
12898 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
12900 @item killed groups
12901 @cindex killed groups
12902 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
12903 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
12905 @item zombie groups
12906 @cindex zombie groups
12907 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
12910 @cindex active file
12911 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
12912 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
12913 is rather large, as you might surmise.
12916 @cindex bogus groups
12917 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
12918 server (i. e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
12919 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
12923 A machine than one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
12925 @item select method
12926 @cindex select method
12927 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
12930 @item virtual server
12931 @cindex virtual server
12932 A named select method. Since a select methods defines all there is to
12933 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the who things as a
12934 whole is a virtual server.
12939 @node Customization
12940 @section Customization
12941 @cindex general customization
12943 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
12944 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
12945 for some quite common situations.
12948 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
12949 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
12950 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
12951 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
12955 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
12956 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
12958 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
12959 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
12960 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
12964 @item gnus-read-active-file
12965 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
12966 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
12967 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-news} and
12968 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
12969 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
12971 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
12972 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
12973 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
12974 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
12978 @node Slow Terminal Connection
12979 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
12981 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that
12982 runs Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce the
12983 amount of data that is sent over the wires as much as possible.
12987 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
12988 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
12989 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
12990 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
12991 horizontal and vertical recentering.
12993 @item gnus-visible-headers
12994 Cut down on the headers that are included in the articles to the
12995 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
12996 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
12997 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
12999 @item gnus-article-display-hook
13000 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
13002 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
13003 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
13004 gnus-article-hide-citation))
13007 @item gnus-use-full-window
13008 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
13009 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
13010 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
13011 want to read them anyway.
13013 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
13014 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
13017 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
13018 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
13019 lines, which might save some time.
13023 @node Little Disk Space
13024 @subsection Little Disk Space
13027 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
13028 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
13032 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
13033 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
13034 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
13035 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13038 @item gnus-save-killed-list
13039 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
13040 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
13041 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
13042 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
13048 @subsection Slow Machine
13049 @cindex slow machine
13051 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
13052 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
13054 Set@code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
13055 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
13057 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
13058 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
13059 summary buffer faster.
13061 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
13062 processing a bit faster.
13065 @node Troubleshooting
13066 @section Troubleshooting
13067 @cindex troubleshooting
13069 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
13077 Make sure your computer is switched on.
13080 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
13081 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
13085 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
13086 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
13087 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
13088 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
13091 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
13095 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
13096 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
13097 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
13098 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
13099 something like that.
13102 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
13105 @cindex reporting bugs
13107 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
13109 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
13110 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
13111 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
13112 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
13114 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
13115 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
13116 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
13117 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
13120 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
13121 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you send back
13122 just ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
13123 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
13124 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
13125 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
13127 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
13128 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
13129 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
13132 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
13133 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
13135 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
13136 @cindex ding mailing list
13137 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@ifi.uio.no}.
13138 Write to @samp{ding-request@@ifi.uio.no} to subscribe.
13141 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
13142 @section A Programmer's Guide to Gnus
13144 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
13145 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
13146 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
13147 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
13150 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
13151 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
13152 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
13153 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
13154 and general method of operations.
13157 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
13158 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
13159 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
13160 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
13161 * Group Info:: The group info format.
13162 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
13163 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
13167 @node Backend Interface
13168 @subsection Backend Interface
13170 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
13171 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
13172 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
13173 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
13174 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
13175 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
13177 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
13178 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
13179 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
13180 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
13181 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
13182 been opened, the function should fail.
13184 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
13185 name. Take this example:
13189 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
13190 (nntp-port-number 4324))
13193 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
13194 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
13196 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
13197 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
13198 server environments that it pulls down/pushes up when needed.
13200 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
13201 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
13202 always check whether are present before attempting to call.
13204 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
13205 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
13206 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
13207 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
13208 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
13209 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
13212 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
13213 some might be said to not be. The latter are backends that generally
13214 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
13215 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
13218 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
13221 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
13224 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
13225 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
13226 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
13227 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
13228 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
13232 @node Required Backend Functions
13233 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
13237 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
13239 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
13240 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
13241 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
13242 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
13244 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
13245 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
13246 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
13247 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
13249 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try to fetch "extra
13250 headers, in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
13251 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
13252 article number in @code{articles}, and fill in the gaps as well. The
13253 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
13254 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
13255 number, do maximum fetches.
13257 Here's an example HEAD:
13260 221 1056 Article retrieved.
13261 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
13262 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
13263 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
13264 Subject: Re: Something very droll
13265 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
13266 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
13268 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
13269 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
13270 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
13274 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
13275 these in the data buffer.
13277 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
13281 head = error / valid-head
13282 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
13283 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
13284 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
13285 header = <text> eol
13288 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
13289 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
13293 nov-buffer = *nov-line
13294 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
13295 field = <text except TAB>
13298 For a closer explanation what should be in those fields,
13302 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
13304 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
13305 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that defines this virtual server.
13307 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
13308 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
13309 server. In fact, it should do so.
13311 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
13312 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
13315 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
13317 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
13318 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
13321 There should be no data returned.
13324 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
13326 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
13327 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
13328 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
13329 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
13331 There should be no data returned.
13334 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
13336 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
13337 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
13338 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
13339 attempt to reconnect to a server that is has lost connection to.
13341 There should be no data returned.
13344 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
13346 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
13348 There should be no data returned.
13351 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
13353 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
13354 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
13355 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
13356 it would be nice if that were possible.
13358 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
13359 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
13360 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
13361 another, and Gnus mainly request articles to be inserted directly into
13362 its article buffer.
13364 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
13365 the car is the group name the article was fetched from, and the cdr is
13366 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
13367 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
13368 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
13369 on successful article retrievement.
13372 @item (nnchoke-open-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13374 Make @var{group} the current group.
13376 There should be no data returned by this function.
13379 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
13381 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
13382 making @var{group} the current group.
13384 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
13387 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
13390 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
13393 The first number is the status, which should be @code{211}. Next is the
13394 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
13395 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
13396 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
13397 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
13398 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
13399 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
13400 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
13403 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
13404 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
13405 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
13409 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13411 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
13412 a no-op on most backends.
13414 There should be no data returned.
13417 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
13419 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
13422 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
13425 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
13426 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
13429 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
13430 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
13433 active-file = *active-line
13434 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
13436 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
13439 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
13440 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
13441 (@samp{=other-group} or none of the above (@samp{y}).
13444 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
13446 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
13447 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
13448 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
13449 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
13450 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
13451 clear if the posting could not be completed.
13453 There should be no result data from this function.
13458 @node Optional Backend Functions
13459 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
13463 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
13465 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
13466 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
13467 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
13469 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
13470 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
13471 former is in the same format as the data from
13472 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
13473 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
13476 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
13480 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
13482 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
13483 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
13484 information (as is the case with virtual an imap groups). This function
13485 may alter the info in any manner it sees fit, and should return the
13486 (altered) group info. This function may alter the group info
13487 destructively, so no copying is needed before boogeying.
13489 There should be no result data from this function.
13492 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
13494 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
13495 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
13496 user is following up is news or mail. This function should return
13497 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
13498 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
13499 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
13500 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
13501 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
13503 There should be no result data from this function.
13506 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
13508 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
13509 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
13510 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
13511 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
13512 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
13514 The only use for this that I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
13515 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
13516 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
13519 There should be no result data from this function.
13522 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
13524 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
13525 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
13526 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
13527 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
13528 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
13529 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
13530 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
13532 There should be no result data from this function.
13535 @item (nnchoke-request-asynchronous GROUP &optional SERVER ARTICLES)
13537 This is a request to fetch articles asynchronously later.
13538 @var{articles} is an alist of @var{(article-number line-number)}. One
13539 would generally expect that if one later fetches article number 4, for
13540 instance, some sort of asynchronous fetching of the articles after 4
13541 (which might be 5, 6, 7 or 11, 3, 909 depending on the order in that
13542 alist) would be fetched asynchronously, but that is left up to the
13543 backend. Gnus doesn't care.
13545 There should be no result data from this function.
13548 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
13550 The result data from this function should be a description of
13554 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
13556 description = <text>
13559 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
13561 The result data from this function should be the description of all
13562 groups available on the server.
13565 description-buffer = *description-line
13569 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
13571 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
13572 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
13573 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
13576 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
13578 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
13580 There should be no return data.
13583 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
13585 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
13586 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
13587 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
13588 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
13589 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
13592 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
13595 There should be no result data returned.
13598 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
13601 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
13602 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
13604 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
13605 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
13606 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
13607 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
13608 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
13609 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
13611 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
13612 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
13615 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
13616 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
13618 There should be no data returned.
13621 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
13623 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
13624 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
13625 this function in short order.
13627 The function should return a cons where the car is the group name and
13628 the cdr is the article number that the article was entered as.
13630 There should be no data returned.
13633 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
13635 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
13636 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
13638 There should be no data returned.
13641 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
13643 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
13644 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
13645 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
13647 There should be no data returned.
13650 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
13652 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
13653 articles that are in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
13655 There should be no data returned.
13660 @node Error Messaging
13661 @subsubsection Error Messaging
13663 @findex nnheader-report
13664 @findex nnheader-get-report
13665 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
13666 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
13667 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
13668 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
13669 there are many of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
13670 This function always returns @code{nil}.
13673 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
13675 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
13678 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
13679 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
13680 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
13681 takes one argument---the server symbol.
13683 Internally, these function access @var{backend}@code{-status-string}, so
13684 the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
13685 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
13688 @node Writing New Backends
13689 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
13691 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
13692 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
13693 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
13694 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
13695 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
13698 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
13699 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
13700 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
13702 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
13703 package called @code{nnoo}.
13705 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
13706 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
13713 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
13714 parameters. For instance:
13717 (nnoo-declare nndir
13721 @code{nndir} has here declared that it intends to inherit functions from
13722 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
13725 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
13726 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
13727 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
13729 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
13730 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
13731 a function in those backends.
13734 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
13735 "Where nndir will look for groups."
13736 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
13739 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
13740 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
13741 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
13743 @item nnoo-define-basics
13744 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
13748 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
13752 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
13753 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
13754 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
13756 @item nnoo-map-functions
13757 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
13758 functions from the parent backends.
13761 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
13762 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
13763 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
13766 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
13767 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
13768 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
13769 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
13772 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
13773 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
13774 haven't already been defined.
13780 nnmh-request-newgroups)
13784 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
13785 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
13786 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
13791 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
13794 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
13795 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
13799 (require 'nnheader)
13803 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
13805 (nnoo-declare nndir
13808 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
13809 "Where nndir will look for groups."
13810 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
13812 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
13813 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
13816 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
13817 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
13818 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
13820 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
13821 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
13823 ;;; Interface functions.
13825 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
13827 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
13828 (setq nndir-directory
13829 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
13831 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
13832 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
13833 (push `(nndir-current-group
13834 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
13836 (push `(nndir-top-directory
13837 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
13839 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
13841 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
13842 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
13843 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
13844 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
13845 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
13849 nnmh-status-message
13851 nnmh-request-newgroups))
13857 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
13858 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
13860 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
13861 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
13862 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
13863 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
13865 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
13866 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
13871 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
13874 The abilities can be:
13878 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
13880 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
13882 This backend supports both mail and news.
13884 This is neither a post or mail backend---it's something completely
13887 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
13888 articles and groups.
13890 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
13891 true for almost all backends.
13892 @item prompt-address
13893 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
13894 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
13895 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
13900 @node Score File Syntax
13901 @subsection Score File Syntax
13903 Score files are meant to be easily parsable, but yet extremely
13904 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
13905 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
13907 Here's a typical score file:
13911 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
13918 BNF definition of a score file:
13921 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
13922 element = rule / atom
13923 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
13924 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
13925 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
13926 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
13928 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
13929 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
13930 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
13931 date-header = "date"
13932 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
13933 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
13934 score = "nil" / <integer>
13935 date = "nil" / <natural number>
13936 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
13937 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
13938 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
13939 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
13940 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
13941 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
13942 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
13943 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
13944 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
13945 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
13946 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
13947 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
13948 exclude-files / read-only / touched
13949 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
13950 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
13951 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
13952 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
13953 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
13954 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
13955 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
13956 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
13957 adapt = "adapt" [ space "nil" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
13958 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
13959 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
13960 eval = "eval" space <form>
13961 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
13964 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
13967 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
13968 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
13969 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
13970 one looong line, then that's ok.
13972 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
13977 @subsection Headers
13979 Gnus uses internally a format for storing article headers that
13980 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
13981 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
13982 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
13984 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
13985 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (eg.,
13986 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
13987 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
13988 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
13989 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
13990 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
13992 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
13993 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
13994 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
13995 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
13996 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
13998 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
14005 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
14006 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
14008 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
14009 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
14010 that you want to callify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
14011 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
14013 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
14017 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
14020 is transformed into
14023 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
14026 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
14027 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
14030 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
14033 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
14034 is slightly tricky:
14037 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
14043 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
14046 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
14052 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
14059 and is equal to the previous range.
14061 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
14062 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
14063 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
14067 range = simple-range / normal-range
14068 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
14069 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
14070 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
14071 number *[ " " contents ]
14074 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
14075 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
14076 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
14077 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
14078 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
14083 @subsection Group Info
14085 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
14086 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
14087 describes the group.
14089 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
14090 second is a more complex one:
14093 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
14095 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
14096 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
14098 (auto-expire (to-address "ding@@ifi.uio.no")))
14101 The first element is the group name as Gnus knows the group; the second
14102 is the group level; the third is the read articles in range format; the
14103 fourth is a list of article marks lists; the fifth is the select method;
14104 and the sixth contains the group parameters.
14106 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
14109 info = "(" group space level space read
14110 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
14111 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
14112 group = quote <string> quote
14113 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
14115 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
14116 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
14117 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
14118 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
14121 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
14122 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
14126 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
14127 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
14131 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
14132 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
14133 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
14135 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
14136 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
14137 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
14138 Gnus, that's very useful.
14140 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
14141 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
14142 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
14143 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
14144 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
14145 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
14146 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
14147 following function:
14150 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
14154 (,function ,@@args))
14158 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
14159 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
14160 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
14163 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
14164 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
14165 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
14168 @node Various File Formats
14169 @subsection Various File Formats
14172 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
14173 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
14177 @node Active File Format
14178 @subsubsection Active File Format
14180 The active file lists all groups that are available on the server in
14181 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
14184 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
14187 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
14188 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
14189 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
14190 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
14191 no.general 1000 900 y
14194 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
14197 active = *group-line
14198 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
14199 group = <non-white-space string>
14201 high-number = <non-negative integer>
14202 low-number = <positive integer>
14203 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
14207 @node Newsgroups File Format
14208 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
14210 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
14211 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
14212 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
14215 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
14216 Here's the definition:
14220 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
14221 group = <non-white-space string>
14223 description = <string>
14227 @node Emacs for Heathens
14228 @section Emacs for Heathens
14230 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
14231 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
14232 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
14233 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
14234 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
14235 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
14236 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
14240 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
14241 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
14246 @subsection Keystrokes
14250 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
14253 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
14256 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
14257 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
14258 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
14259 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
14260 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
14261 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
14263 The shift key is normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
14264 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
14265 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
14266 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
14267 keyboards. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
14268 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
14269 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
14271 Now, us Emacs people doesn't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
14272 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
14273 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
14274 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
14275 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
14276 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
14277 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
14279 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
14280 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
14281 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
14282 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
14283 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
14289 @subsection Emacs Lisp
14291 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
14292 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
14293 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
14294 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
14296 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
14297 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
14298 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
14299 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
14300 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
14301 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
14302 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
14305 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
14306 write the following:
14309 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
14312 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
14313 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
14314 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
14317 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
14318 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
14319 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
14320 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
14321 previous ``form'', which here is a simple @code{setq} statement.
14323 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
14324 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
14325 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
14329 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
14333 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
14336 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
14337 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
14340 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
14343 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
14344 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
14347 @include gnus-faq.texi