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265 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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274 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
276 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
277 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
278 are preserved on all copies.
280 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
281 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
282 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
283 permission notice identical to this one.
285 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
286 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
295 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
297 Copyright (C) 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
299 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
300 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
301 are preserved on all copies.
304 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
305 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
306 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
307 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
310 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
311 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
312 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
313 permission notice identical to this one.
315 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
316 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
324 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
327 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
328 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97,98,99 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
330 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
331 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
332 are preserved on all copies.
334 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
335 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
336 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
337 permission notice identical to this one.
339 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
340 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
349 @top The Gnus Newsreader
353 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
354 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
355 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
358 This manual corresponds to Gnus 5.8.7.
369 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
370 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
372 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
373 being accused of plagiarism:
375 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
376 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
377 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
378 can even read news with it!
380 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
381 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
382 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
383 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
384 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
390 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
391 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
392 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
393 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
394 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
395 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
396 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
397 * Various:: General purpose settings.
398 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
399 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
400 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
401 * Key Index:: Key Index.
404 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
408 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
409 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
410 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
411 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
412 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
413 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
414 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
415 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
416 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
417 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
418 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
422 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
423 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
424 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
428 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
429 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
430 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
431 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
432 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
433 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
434 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
435 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
436 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
437 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
438 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
439 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
440 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
441 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
442 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
443 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
444 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
448 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
449 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
450 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
454 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
455 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
456 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
457 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
458 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
462 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
463 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
464 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
465 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
469 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
470 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
471 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
472 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
473 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
474 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
475 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
476 * Threading:: How threads are made.
477 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
478 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
479 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
480 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
481 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
482 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
483 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
484 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
485 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
486 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
487 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
488 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
489 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
490 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
491 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
492 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
493 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
494 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
495 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
496 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
498 Summary Buffer Format
500 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
501 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
502 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
503 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
507 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
508 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
510 Reply, Followup and Post
512 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
513 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
514 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
515 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
519 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
520 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
521 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
525 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
526 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
527 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
531 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
532 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
534 Customizing Threading
536 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
537 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
538 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
539 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
543 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
544 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
545 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
546 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
547 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
548 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
552 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
553 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
554 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
558 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
559 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
560 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
561 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
562 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
563 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
564 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
565 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
567 Alternative Approaches
569 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
570 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
572 Various Summary Stuff
574 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
575 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
576 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
577 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
581 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
582 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
583 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
584 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
585 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
589 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
590 * Post:: Posting and following up.
591 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
592 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
593 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
594 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
595 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
596 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
600 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
601 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
602 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
603 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
604 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
605 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
606 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
610 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
611 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
612 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
613 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
614 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
615 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
616 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
620 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
621 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
625 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
626 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
627 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
628 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
629 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
630 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
631 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
632 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
633 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
634 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
635 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
636 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
637 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
641 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
642 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
643 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
645 Choosing a Mail Backend
647 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
648 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
649 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
650 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
651 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
652 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
656 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
657 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
658 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
659 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
663 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
664 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
665 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
666 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
667 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
668 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
672 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
676 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
677 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
678 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
682 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
683 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
684 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
688 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
689 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
693 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
694 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
695 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
696 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
697 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
698 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
699 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
700 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
701 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
705 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
706 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
707 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
711 * Group Agent Commands::
712 * Summary Agent Commands::
713 * Server Agent Commands::
717 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
718 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
719 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
720 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
721 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
722 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
723 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
724 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
725 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
726 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
727 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
728 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
729 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
730 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
731 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
732 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
736 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
737 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
738 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
739 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
743 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
744 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
745 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
749 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
750 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
751 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
752 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
753 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
754 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
755 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
756 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
757 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
758 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
759 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
760 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
761 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
762 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
763 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
764 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
765 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
766 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
770 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
771 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
772 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
773 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
774 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
778 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
779 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
780 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
781 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
785 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
786 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
787 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
788 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
789 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
793 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
794 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
795 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
796 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
797 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
798 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
799 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
800 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
804 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
805 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
806 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
807 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
808 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
809 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
810 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
811 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
812 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
813 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
817 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
818 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
819 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
820 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
824 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
825 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
826 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
827 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
831 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
832 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
833 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
834 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
835 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
836 * Group Info:: The group info format.
837 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
838 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
839 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
843 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
844 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
845 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
846 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
847 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
848 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
852 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
853 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
857 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
858 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
864 @chapter Starting Gnus
869 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
870 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
873 @findex gnus-other-frame
874 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
875 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
876 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
878 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
879 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
880 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
882 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
883 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
886 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
887 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
888 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
889 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
890 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
891 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
892 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
893 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
894 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
895 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
896 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
900 @node Finding the News
901 @section Finding the News
904 @vindex gnus-select-method
906 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
907 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
908 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
909 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
912 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
913 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
916 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
919 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
922 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
925 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
926 certainly be much faster.
928 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
930 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
931 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
932 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
933 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
934 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
935 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
937 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
938 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
939 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
940 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
942 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
943 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
944 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
945 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
946 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
947 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
948 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
949 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
950 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
953 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
955 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
956 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
957 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
958 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
959 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
960 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
962 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
964 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
965 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
966 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
967 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
968 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
969 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
972 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
973 would typically set this variable to
976 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
981 @section The First Time
982 @cindex first time usage
984 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
985 be subscribed by default.
987 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
988 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
989 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
990 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
993 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
994 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
995 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
997 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
998 help you with most common problems.
1000 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
1001 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1005 @node The Server is Down
1006 @section The Server is Down
1007 @cindex server errors
1009 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
1010 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1011 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
1013 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1014 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1015 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1016 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1017 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1018 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1019 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1021 @findex gnus-no-server
1022 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1024 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1025 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1026 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
1027 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1028 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1029 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1034 @section Slave Gnusae
1037 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
1038 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1039 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
1040 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1042 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1043 @code{.newsrc} file.
1045 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
1046 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1047 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1048 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1049 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1050 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1051 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1053 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1054 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
1055 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1056 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1057 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
1058 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1059 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1060 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1062 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1063 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1066 @node Fetching a Group
1067 @section Fetching a Group
1068 @cindex fetching a group
1070 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1071 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1072 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
1073 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1074 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1075 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1081 @cindex subscription
1083 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1084 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1085 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1086 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1087 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1088 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1089 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1090 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1091 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1094 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1095 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
1096 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
1100 @node Checking New Groups
1101 @subsection Checking New Groups
1103 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1104 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1105 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1106 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
1107 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1108 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1109 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1110 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1111 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1112 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1114 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1115 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1116 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1117 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1118 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1119 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
1120 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1121 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1122 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1123 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1124 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1126 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
1127 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1128 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1129 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1130 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1131 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1134 @node Subscription Methods
1135 @subsection Subscription Methods
1137 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1138 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1139 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1141 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1142 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1144 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1148 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1149 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1150 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1151 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1152 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1154 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1155 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1156 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1157 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1159 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1160 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1161 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1163 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1164 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1165 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1166 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1167 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1168 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1169 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1170 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1171 up. Or something like that.
1173 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1174 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1175 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
1176 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1177 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1179 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1180 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1181 Kill all new groups.
1183 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1184 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1185 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1186 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1187 topic parameter that looks like
1193 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1196 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1201 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1202 A closely related variable is
1203 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1204 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
1205 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1206 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1209 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1210 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1211 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1212 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1215 @node Filtering New Groups
1216 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1218 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1219 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1220 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1223 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1226 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1227 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1228 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1229 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1230 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1231 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1232 subscribing these groups.
1233 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1234 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1236 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1237 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1238 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1239 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1240 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1241 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1242 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1243 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1245 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1246 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1247 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1248 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1249 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1250 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1251 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1252 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1253 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1254 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1256 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1257 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1260 @node Changing Servers
1261 @section Changing Servers
1262 @cindex changing servers
1264 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1265 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1266 very flaky and you want to use another.
1268 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1269 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1273 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1274 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1275 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1276 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1279 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1280 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1281 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1282 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1284 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1285 @findex gnus-change-server
1286 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1287 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1288 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1289 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1290 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1292 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1293 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1294 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1295 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1296 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1298 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1299 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1300 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1301 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1302 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1303 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1305 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1306 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1307 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1311 @section Startup Files
1312 @cindex startup files
1317 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1318 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1320 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1321 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1322 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1323 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1324 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1325 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1326 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1328 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1329 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1330 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1331 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1332 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1333 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1335 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1336 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1337 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1338 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1339 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
1340 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1341 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1342 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes Gnus ignore the
1343 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1344 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1346 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1347 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1348 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1349 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1350 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1351 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1352 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1353 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1354 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1355 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1356 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1357 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1359 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1360 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1361 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1362 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1364 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1365 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1366 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1367 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1368 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1369 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1370 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1371 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1372 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1373 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1376 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1377 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1379 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1380 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1383 @vindex gnus-init-file
1384 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1385 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1386 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1387 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1388 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1389 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1390 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1391 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1392 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1398 @cindex dribble file
1401 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
1402 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1403 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1404 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1405 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1408 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1409 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1412 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1413 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
1414 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1416 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1417 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1418 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
1419 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1420 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1421 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1423 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1424 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1425 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1428 @node The Active File
1429 @section The Active File
1431 @cindex ignored groups
1433 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1434 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1435 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1437 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1438 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
1439 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1440 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
1441 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1442 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1443 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1446 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1447 @c if you set it to anything else.
1449 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1451 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1452 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
1453 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1455 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1456 you actually subscribe to.
1458 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1459 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
1460 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
1461 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1463 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1464 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1465 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1466 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1467 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1468 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1470 Some news servers (Leafnode and old versions of INN, for instance) do
1471 not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these servers, @code{nil}
1472 is probably the most efficient value for this variable.
1474 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
1475 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1476 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1477 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1478 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1479 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1481 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1482 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1484 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1485 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1487 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1488 secondary select methods.
1491 @node Startup Variables
1492 @section Startup Variables
1496 @item gnus-load-hook
1497 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1498 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1499 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1500 times you start Gnus.
1502 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1503 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1504 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1506 @item gnus-startup-hook
1507 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1508 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1510 @item gnus-started-hook
1511 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1512 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1515 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1516 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1517 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1518 generating the group buffer.
1520 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1521 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1522 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1523 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1524 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1525 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1526 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1527 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1529 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1530 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1531 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1532 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1533 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1534 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1536 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1537 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1538 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1540 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1541 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1542 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1544 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1545 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1546 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1547 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1552 @node The Group Buffer
1553 @chapter The Group Buffer
1554 @cindex group buffer
1556 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1557 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1558 long as Gnus is active.
1562 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1563 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1564 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1565 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1566 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1567 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1568 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1569 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1575 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1576 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1577 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1578 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1579 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1580 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1581 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1582 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1583 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1584 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1585 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1586 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1587 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1588 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1589 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1590 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1591 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1595 @node Group Buffer Format
1596 @section Group Buffer Format
1599 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1600 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1601 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1605 @node Group Line Specification
1606 @subsection Group Line Specification
1607 @cindex group buffer format
1609 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1610 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1612 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1615 25: news.announce.newusers
1616 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1621 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1622 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1623 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1624 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1626 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1627 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1628 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1629 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1630 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1631 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1633 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1635 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1636 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1637 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1638 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1641 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1642 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1643 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1645 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1650 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1653 Whether the group is subscribed.
1656 Level of subscribedness.
1659 Number of unread articles.
1662 Number of dormant articles.
1665 Number of ticked articles.
1668 Number of read articles.
1671 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1672 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1675 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1678 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1687 Newsgroup description.
1690 @samp{m} if moderated.
1693 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1702 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1706 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1709 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1710 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1711 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1712 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1713 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1716 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1718 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1722 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1726 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1727 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1728 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1729 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1730 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1731 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1736 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1737 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1738 group, or a bogus native group.
1741 @node Group Modeline Specification
1742 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1743 @cindex group modeline
1745 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1746 The mode line can be changed by setting
1747 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1748 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1752 The native news server.
1754 The native select method.
1758 @node Group Highlighting
1759 @subsection Group Highlighting
1760 @cindex highlighting
1761 @cindex group highlighting
1763 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1764 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1765 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1766 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1767 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1769 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1773 (cond (window-system
1774 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1775 (defface my-group-face-1
1776 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1777 (defface my-group-face-2
1778 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1779 (defface my-group-face-3
1780 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1781 (defface my-group-face-4
1782 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1783 (defface my-group-face-5
1784 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1786 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1787 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1788 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1789 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1790 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1791 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1794 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1796 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1803 The number of unread articles in the group.
1807 Whether the group is a mail group.
1809 The level of the group.
1811 The score of the group.
1813 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1815 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1816 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1818 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1819 topic being inserted.
1822 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1823 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1824 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1826 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1827 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1828 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1829 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1830 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1833 @node Group Maneuvering
1834 @section Group Maneuvering
1835 @cindex group movement
1837 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1838 expected, hopefully.
1844 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1845 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1846 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1852 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1853 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1854 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1858 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1859 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1863 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1864 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1868 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1869 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1870 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1874 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1875 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1876 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1879 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1885 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1886 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1887 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1892 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1893 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1894 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1898 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1899 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1900 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1903 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1904 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1905 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1906 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1910 @node Selecting a Group
1911 @section Selecting a Group
1912 @cindex group selection
1917 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1918 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1919 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1920 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1921 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1922 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1923 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1924 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1925 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1926 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1930 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1931 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1932 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1933 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1934 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1938 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1939 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1940 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1941 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1942 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1943 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1944 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1945 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1946 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1947 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1950 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1951 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1952 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1953 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1954 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1957 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1958 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1959 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1960 doing any processing of its contents
1961 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1962 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1963 manner will have no permanent effects.
1967 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1968 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1969 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1970 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1971 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1972 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1973 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1974 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1977 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1978 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1979 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1980 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1985 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1986 full summary buffer.
1989 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1992 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1997 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1998 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1999 Useful functions include:
2002 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2003 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2004 don't select the article.
2006 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2007 Select the first unread article.
2009 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2010 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2014 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2015 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2016 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2020 @node Subscription Commands
2021 @section Subscription Commands
2022 @cindex subscription
2030 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2031 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2032 Toggle subscription to the current group
2033 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2039 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2040 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2041 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2042 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2048 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2049 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2050 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2056 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2057 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2060 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2061 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2062 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2063 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2064 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2070 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2071 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2075 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2076 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2079 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2080 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2081 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2082 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2083 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2084 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2085 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2086 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2087 @file{.newsrc} file.
2091 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2101 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2102 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2103 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2104 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2105 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2106 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2111 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2112 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2113 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2117 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2118 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2119 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2121 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2122 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2123 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2124 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2125 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2126 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2133 @section Group Levels
2137 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2138 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2139 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2140 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2141 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2143 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2149 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2150 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2151 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2152 prompted for a level.
2155 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2156 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2157 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2158 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2159 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2160 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2161 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2162 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2163 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2164 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2165 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2166 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2167 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2168 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2169 reasons of efficiency.
2171 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2172 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2174 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2175 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2176 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2178 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2179 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2180 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2181 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2182 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2183 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2184 relevant valid ranges.
2186 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2187 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2188 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2189 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2190 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2191 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2194 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2195 one with the best level.
2197 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2198 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2199 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2202 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2203 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2204 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2205 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2208 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2209 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2210 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2211 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2213 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2214 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2215 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2216 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2217 to 5. The default is 6.
2221 @section Group Score
2226 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2227 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2228 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2231 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2232 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2233 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2234 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2235 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2236 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2237 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2238 least significant part.))
2240 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2241 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2242 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2243 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2244 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2245 action after each summary exit, you can add
2246 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2247 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2248 slow things down somewhat.
2251 @node Marking Groups
2252 @section Marking Groups
2253 @cindex marking groups
2255 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2256 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2257 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2258 bidding on those groups.
2260 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2261 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2262 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2270 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2271 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2277 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2278 Remove the mark from the current group
2279 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2283 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2284 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2288 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2289 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2293 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2294 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2298 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2299 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2300 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2303 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2305 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2306 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2307 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2308 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2309 the command to be executed.
2312 @node Foreign Groups
2313 @section Foreign Groups
2314 @cindex foreign groups
2316 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2317 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2318 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2319 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2326 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2327 @cindex making groups
2328 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2329 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2330 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2334 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2335 @cindex renaming groups
2336 Rename the current group to something else
2337 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2338 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2344 @findex gnus-group-customize
2345 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2349 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2350 @cindex renaming groups
2351 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2352 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2356 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2357 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2358 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2362 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2363 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2364 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2368 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2370 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2371 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2376 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2377 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2381 @cindex (ding) archive
2382 @cindex archive group
2383 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2384 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2385 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2386 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2387 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2388 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2389 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2393 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2395 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2396 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2397 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2398 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2402 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2404 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2405 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2406 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2410 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2411 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2413 Make a group based on some file or other
2414 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2415 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2416 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2417 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2418 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2419 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2420 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2424 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2425 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2426 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2427 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2431 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2436 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2437 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2438 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2439 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2440 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2441 @xref{Web Searches}.
2443 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2444 to a particular group by using a match string like
2445 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2448 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2449 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2450 This function will delete the current group
2451 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2452 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2453 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2454 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2455 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2459 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2460 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2461 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2465 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2466 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2467 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2470 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2473 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2474 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2475 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2476 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2477 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2478 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2482 @node Group Parameters
2483 @section Group Parameters
2484 @cindex group parameters
2486 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2487 Here's an example group parameter list:
2490 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2494 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2495 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2496 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2497 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2499 The following group parameters can be used:
2504 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2507 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2510 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2511 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2512 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2513 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2514 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2516 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2517 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2518 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2519 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2520 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2521 list address instead.
2525 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2528 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2531 It is totally ignored
2532 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2533 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2535 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2536 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2537 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2538 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2539 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2541 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2542 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2543 sending the message.
2547 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2548 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2549 of whether it has any unread articles.
2551 @item broken-reply-to
2552 @cindex broken-reply-to
2553 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2554 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2555 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2556 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2557 broken behavior. So there!
2561 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2562 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2566 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2567 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2568 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2573 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2574 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2575 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2576 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2577 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2578 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2579 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2583 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2584 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2585 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2588 @cindex total-expire
2589 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2590 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2591 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2592 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2597 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2598 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2599 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2600 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2601 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2602 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2605 @cindex score file group parameter
2606 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2607 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2608 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2611 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2612 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2613 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2614 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2617 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2618 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2619 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2620 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2623 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2624 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2628 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2631 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2636 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2637 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2638 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2642 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2643 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2644 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2646 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2647 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2648 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2649 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2650 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2651 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2652 @code{eval}ed there.
2654 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2655 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2656 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2657 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2658 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2661 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2662 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2663 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2664 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2665 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2667 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2668 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2669 like this in the group parameters:
2674 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2679 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2680 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2684 @node Listing Groups
2685 @section Listing Groups
2686 @cindex group listing
2688 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2696 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2697 List all groups that have unread articles
2698 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2699 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2700 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2701 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2708 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2709 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2710 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2711 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2712 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2713 unsubscribed groups).
2717 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2718 List all unread groups on a specific level
2719 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2720 with no unread articles.
2724 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2725 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2726 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2727 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2732 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2733 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2737 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2738 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2739 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2743 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2744 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2748 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2749 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2750 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2751 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2752 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2753 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2754 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2755 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2759 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2760 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2761 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2765 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2766 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2767 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2771 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2772 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2776 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2777 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2781 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2782 @cindex visible group parameter
2783 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2784 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2785 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2786 get the same effect.
2788 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2789 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2790 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2791 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2792 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2795 @node Sorting Groups
2796 @section Sorting Groups
2797 @cindex sorting groups
2799 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2800 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2801 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2802 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2803 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2804 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2809 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2810 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2811 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2813 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2814 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2815 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2817 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2818 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2819 Sort by group level.
2821 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2822 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2823 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2825 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2826 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2827 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2828 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2830 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2831 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2832 Sort by number of unread articles.
2834 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2835 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2836 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2841 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2842 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2846 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2847 some sorting criteria:
2851 @kindex G S a (Group)
2852 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2853 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2854 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2857 @kindex G S u (Group)
2858 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2859 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2860 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2863 @kindex G S l (Group)
2864 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2865 Sort the group buffer by group level
2866 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2869 @kindex G S v (Group)
2870 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2871 Sort the group buffer by group score
2872 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2875 @kindex G S r (Group)
2876 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2877 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2878 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2881 @kindex G S m (Group)
2882 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2883 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2884 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2888 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2889 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2891 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2892 commands will sort in reverse order.
2894 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2898 @kindex G P a (Group)
2899 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2900 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2901 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2904 @kindex G P u (Group)
2905 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2906 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2907 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2910 @kindex G P l (Group)
2911 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2912 Sort the groups by group level
2913 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2916 @kindex G P v (Group)
2917 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2918 Sort the groups by group score
2919 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2922 @kindex G P r (Group)
2923 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2924 Sort the groups by group rank
2925 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2928 @kindex G P m (Group)
2929 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2930 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2931 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2937 @node Group Maintenance
2938 @section Group Maintenance
2939 @cindex bogus groups
2944 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2945 Find bogus groups and delete them
2946 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2950 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2951 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2952 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2953 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2954 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2958 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2959 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2960 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2961 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2964 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2965 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2966 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2967 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2972 @node Browse Foreign Server
2973 @section Browse Foreign Server
2974 @cindex foreign servers
2975 @cindex browsing servers
2980 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2981 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2982 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2983 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2986 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2987 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2988 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2989 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2991 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2996 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2997 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3001 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3002 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3005 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3006 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3007 Enter the current group and display the first article
3008 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3011 @kindex RET (Browse)
3012 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3013 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3017 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3018 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3019 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3025 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3026 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3030 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3031 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3032 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3037 @section Exiting Gnus
3038 @cindex exiting Gnus
3040 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
3045 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3046 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
3047 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3048 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3052 @findex gnus-group-exit
3053 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3054 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3058 @findex gnus-group-quit
3059 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3060 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3063 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3064 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3065 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
3066 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
3067 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3072 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3073 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3074 trying to customize meta-variables.
3079 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3080 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3081 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3087 @section Group Topics
3090 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3091 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3092 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3093 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3094 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3095 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3099 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3100 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3111 2: alt.religion.emacs
3114 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3116 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3117 13: comp.sources.unix
3120 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3122 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3123 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3124 is a toggling command.)
3126 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3127 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3128 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3129 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3132 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3133 the hook for the group mode:
3136 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3140 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3141 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3142 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3143 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3144 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3148 @node Topic Variables
3149 @subsection Topic Variables
3150 @cindex topic variables
3152 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3153 really neat, I think.
3155 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3156 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3157 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3170 Number of groups in the topic.
3172 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3174 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3177 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3178 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3179 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3182 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3183 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3185 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3186 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3187 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3190 @node Topic Commands
3191 @subsection Topic Commands
3192 @cindex topic commands
3194 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3195 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3196 definitions slightly.
3202 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3203 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3204 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3208 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3209 Move the current group to some other topic
3210 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3211 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3215 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3216 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3220 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3221 Copy the current group to some other topic
3222 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3223 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3227 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3228 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3229 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3230 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3231 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3232 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3233 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3236 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3237 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3241 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3242 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3243 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3247 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3248 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3249 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3253 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3254 Toggle hiding empty topics
3255 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3259 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3260 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3261 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3264 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3265 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3266 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3267 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3271 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3273 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3274 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3275 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3276 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3279 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3280 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3281 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3282 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3286 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3288 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3289 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3290 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3291 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3292 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3293 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3296 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3297 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3298 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3299 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3303 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3304 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3305 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3309 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3310 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3311 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3316 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3317 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3320 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3321 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3322 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3326 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3327 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3328 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3332 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3333 @cindex group parameters
3334 @cindex topic parameters
3336 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3337 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3343 @subsection Topic Sorting
3344 @cindex topic sorting
3346 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3352 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3353 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3354 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3355 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3358 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3359 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3360 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3361 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3364 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3365 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3366 Sort the current topic by group level
3367 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3370 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3371 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3372 Sort the current topic by group score
3373 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3376 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3377 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3378 Sort the current topic by group rank
3379 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3382 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3383 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3384 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3385 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3389 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3392 @node Topic Topology
3393 @subsection Topic Topology
3394 @cindex topic topology
3397 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3403 2: alt.religion.emacs
3406 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3408 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3409 13: comp.sources.unix
3412 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3413 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3414 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3419 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3420 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3424 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3425 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3426 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3427 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3428 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3429 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3431 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3432 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3433 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3436 @node Topic Parameters
3437 @subsection Topic Parameters
3438 @cindex topic parameters
3440 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3441 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3442 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3444 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3449 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3450 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3451 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3456 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3457 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3458 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3459 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3465 2: alt.religion.emacs
3469 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3471 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3472 13: comp.sources.unix
3476 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3477 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3478 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3479 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3480 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3481 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3483 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3484 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3485 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3486 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3487 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3489 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3490 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3491 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3492 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3493 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3494 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3495 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3496 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3499 @node Misc Group Stuff
3500 @section Misc Group Stuff
3503 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3504 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
3505 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3506 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
3513 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3514 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3515 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3519 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3520 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3521 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3525 @findex gnus-group-mail
3526 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3530 Variables for the group buffer:
3534 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3535 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3536 is called after the group buffer has been
3539 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3540 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3541 is called after the group buffer is
3542 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3545 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3546 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3547 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3548 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3550 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3551 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3552 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3553 whether they are empty or not.
3555 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3556 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3557 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3558 non-ASCII group names.
3562 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3563 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3566 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3567 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3568 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3569 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3573 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3574 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3579 @node Scanning New Messages
3580 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3581 @cindex new messages
3582 @cindex scanning new news
3588 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3589 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3590 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3591 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3592 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3593 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3598 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3599 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3600 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3601 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3602 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3603 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3604 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3606 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3607 @cindex activating groups
3609 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3610 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3615 @findex gnus-group-restart
3616 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3617 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3618 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3622 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3623 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3625 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3626 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3630 @node Group Information
3631 @subsection Group Information
3632 @cindex group information
3633 @cindex information on groups
3640 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3641 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3644 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3645 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3646 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3647 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3648 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3649 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3650 for fetching the file.
3652 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3653 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3657 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3659 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3660 @cindex describing groups
3661 @cindex group description
3662 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3663 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3664 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3668 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3669 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3670 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3677 @findex gnus-version
3678 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3682 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3683 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3686 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3689 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3690 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3694 @node Group Timestamp
3695 @subsection Group Timestamp
3697 @cindex group timestamps
3699 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3700 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3701 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3704 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3707 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3709 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3710 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3713 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3714 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3717 This will result in lines looking like:
3720 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3721 0: custom 19961002T012713
3724 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3725 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3729 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3730 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3735 @subsection File Commands
3736 @cindex file commands
3742 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3743 @vindex gnus-init-file
3744 @cindex reading init file
3745 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3746 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3750 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3751 @cindex saving .newsrc
3752 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3753 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3754 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3757 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3758 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3759 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3764 @node The Summary Buffer
3765 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3766 @cindex summary buffer
3768 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3769 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3771 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3772 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3774 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3777 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3778 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3779 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3780 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3781 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3782 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3783 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3784 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3785 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3786 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3787 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3788 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3789 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3790 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3791 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3792 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3793 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3794 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3795 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3796 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3797 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3798 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3799 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3800 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3801 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3802 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3803 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3804 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3808 @node Summary Buffer Format
3809 @section Summary Buffer Format
3810 @cindex summary buffer format
3814 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3815 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3816 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3822 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3823 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3824 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3825 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3828 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3829 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3830 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3831 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3832 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3833 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3834 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3835 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3836 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3837 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3838 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3841 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3842 'mail-extract-address-components)
3845 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3846 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3847 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3848 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3851 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3852 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3854 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3855 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3856 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3857 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3858 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3860 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3862 The following format specification characters are understood:
3868 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3869 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3871 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3872 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3873 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3875 Full @code{From} header.
3877 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3879 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3880 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3882 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3883 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3884 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3885 may be more thorough.
3887 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3890 Number of lines in the article.
3892 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3893 methods (like nnfolder).
3895 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3897 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3898 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3900 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3901 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3903 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3904 for adopted articles.
3906 One space for each thread level.
3908 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3913 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3914 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3918 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3920 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3921 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3922 default level. If the difference between
3923 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3924 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3932 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3934 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3940 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3941 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3943 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3944 article has any children.
3950 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3951 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3952 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3953 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3954 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3955 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3958 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3959 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3960 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3961 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3962 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3963 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3965 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3966 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3968 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3971 @node To From Newsgroups
3972 @subsection To From Newsgroups
3976 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
3977 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
3978 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
3979 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
3980 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
3984 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
3985 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
3986 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
3990 (setq gnus-extra-headers
3991 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
3994 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
3995 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
3998 @findex gnus-extra-header
3999 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4000 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4001 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4004 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4008 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4009 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4010 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4011 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4012 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4013 headers are used instead.
4017 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4018 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4019 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4020 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4023 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4024 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4025 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4026 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4028 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4031 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4033 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4034 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4035 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4036 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4040 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4041 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4048 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4049 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4052 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4053 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4055 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4056 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4057 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4058 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4060 Here are the elements you can play with:
4066 Unprefixed group name.
4068 Current article number.
4070 Current article score.
4074 Number of unread articles in this group.
4076 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4079 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4080 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4081 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4082 and no unselected ones.
4084 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4085 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4087 Subject of the current article.
4089 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4091 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4093 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4095 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4097 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4099 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4103 @node Summary Highlighting
4104 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4108 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4109 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4110 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4111 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4112 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4114 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4115 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4116 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4117 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4119 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4120 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4121 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4122 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4124 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4125 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4126 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4127 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4128 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4129 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4132 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4133 ((> score default) . bold))
4135 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4136 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4140 @node Summary Maneuvering
4141 @section Summary Maneuvering
4142 @cindex summary movement
4144 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4145 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4147 None of these commands select articles.
4152 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4153 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4154 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4155 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4156 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4160 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4161 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4162 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4163 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4164 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4169 @kindex G j (Summary)
4170 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4171 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4172 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4175 @kindex G g (Summary)
4176 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4177 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4178 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4181 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4182 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4183 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4184 to the group buffer.
4186 Variables related to summary movement:
4190 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4191 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4192 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4193 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
4194 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4195 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4196 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
4197 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4198 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
4199 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4200 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4201 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4202 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4203 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4205 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4206 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4207 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4208 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4209 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4210 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4211 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4213 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4215 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4216 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4217 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4218 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4219 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4221 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4222 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4223 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4224 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4225 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4226 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4227 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4228 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4231 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4232 the given number of lines from the top.
4237 @node Choosing Articles
4238 @section Choosing Articles
4239 @cindex selecting articles
4242 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4243 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4247 @node Choosing Commands
4248 @subsection Choosing Commands
4250 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4251 and they all select and display an article.
4255 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4256 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4257 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4258 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4263 @kindex G n (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4265 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4266 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4271 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4272 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4273 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4278 @kindex G N (Summary)
4279 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4280 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4285 @kindex G P (Summary)
4286 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4287 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4290 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4291 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4292 Go to the next article with the same subject
4293 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4296 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4297 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4298 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4299 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4303 @kindex G f (Summary)
4305 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4306 Go to the first unread article
4307 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4311 @kindex G b (Summary)
4313 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4314 Go to the article with the highest score
4315 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4320 @kindex G l (Summary)
4321 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4322 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4325 @kindex G o (Summary)
4326 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4328 @cindex article history
4329 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4330 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4331 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4332 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4333 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4334 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4338 @node Choosing Variables
4339 @subsection Choosing Variables
4341 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4344 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4345 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4346 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4347 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4348 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4349 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4351 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4352 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4353 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4354 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4356 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4357 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4358 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4359 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4360 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4361 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4362 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4363 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4364 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4365 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4366 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4367 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4368 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4369 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4374 @node Paging the Article
4375 @section Scrolling the Article
4376 @cindex article scrolling
4381 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4382 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4383 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4384 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4385 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4388 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4389 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4390 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4393 @kindex RET (Summary)
4394 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4395 Scroll the current article one line forward
4396 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4399 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4400 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4401 Scroll the current article one line backward
4402 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4406 @kindex A g (Summary)
4408 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4409 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4410 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4411 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4412 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4413 the way it came from the server.
4415 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4416 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4417 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4420 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4425 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4430 @kindex A < (Summary)
4431 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4432 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4433 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4438 @kindex A > (Summary)
4439 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4440 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4444 @kindex A s (Summary)
4446 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4447 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4448 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4452 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4453 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4458 @node Reply Followup and Post
4459 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4462 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4463 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4464 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4465 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4469 @node Summary Mail Commands
4470 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4472 @cindex composing mail
4474 Commands for composing a mail message:
4480 @kindex S r (Summary)
4482 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4483 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4484 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4485 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4486 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4491 @kindex S R (Summary)
4492 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4493 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4494 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4495 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4496 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4499 @kindex S w (Summary)
4500 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4501 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4502 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4503 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4504 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4507 @kindex S W (Summary)
4508 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4509 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4510 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4511 the process/prefix convention.
4515 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4516 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4517 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4518 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4519 Forward the current article to some other person
4520 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If no prefix is given, the message
4521 is forwarded according to the value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime})
4522 and (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4523 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4524 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4525 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4526 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4527 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4528 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4533 @kindex S m (Summary)
4534 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4535 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4536 Send a mail to some other person
4537 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4540 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4541 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4542 @cindex bouncing mail
4543 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4544 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4545 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4546 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4547 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4548 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
4549 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4550 very well fail, though.
4553 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4554 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4555 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4556 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4557 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4558 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4559 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4560 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4561 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4562 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4564 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4565 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4566 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4567 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4568 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4570 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4571 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4574 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4575 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4576 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4577 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4578 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4581 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4582 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4583 @cindex crossposting
4584 @cindex excessive crossposting
4585 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4586 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4588 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4589 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4590 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4591 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4592 command understands the process/prefix convention
4593 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4597 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4600 @node Summary Post Commands
4601 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4603 @cindex composing news
4605 Commands for posting a news article:
4611 @kindex S p (Summary)
4612 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4613 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4614 Post an article to the current group
4615 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4620 @kindex S f (Summary)
4621 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4622 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4623 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4627 @kindex S F (Summary)
4629 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4630 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4631 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4632 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4633 process/prefix convention.
4636 @kindex S n (Summary)
4637 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4638 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4639 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4642 @kindex S N (Summary)
4643 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4644 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4645 message through mail and include the original message
4646 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4647 the process/prefix convention.
4650 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4651 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4652 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4653 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}).
4654 If no prefix is given, the message is forwarded according to the value
4655 of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}) and
4656 (@code{message-forward-show-mml}); if the prefix is 1, decode the
4657 message and forward directly inline; if the prefix is 2, foward message
4658 as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 3, decode message and
4659 forward as an rfc822 MIME section; if the prefix is 4, foward message
4660 directly inline; otherwise, the message is forwarded as no prefix given
4661 but use the flipped value of (@code{message-forward-as-mime}). By
4662 default, the message is decoded and forwarded as an rfc822 MIME section.
4665 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4666 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4668 @cindex making digests
4669 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4670 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4671 process/prefix convention.
4674 @kindex S u (Summary)
4675 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4676 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4677 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4678 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4681 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4684 @node Summary Message Commands
4685 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4689 @kindex S y (Summary)
4690 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4691 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4692 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4693 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4694 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4699 @node Canceling and Superseding
4700 @subsection Canceling Articles
4701 @cindex canceling articles
4702 @cindex superseding articles
4704 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4705 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4707 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4709 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4711 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4712 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4713 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4714 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4715 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4716 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4718 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4719 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4722 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4723 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4724 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4726 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4727 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4728 your original article.
4730 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4732 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4733 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4734 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4737 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4738 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4739 have posted almost the same article twice.
4741 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4742 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4743 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4744 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4745 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4746 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4747 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4748 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4749 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4750 canceled/superseded.
4752 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4755 @node Marking Articles
4756 @section Marking Articles
4757 @cindex article marking
4758 @cindex article ticking
4761 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4763 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4764 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4765 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4767 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4770 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4771 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4772 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4776 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4780 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4781 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4782 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4786 @node Unread Articles
4787 @subsection Unread Articles
4789 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4794 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4795 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4797 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4798 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4799 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4800 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4801 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4805 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4806 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4808 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4809 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4810 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4813 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4814 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4816 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4821 @subsection Read Articles
4822 @cindex expirable mark
4824 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4829 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4830 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4831 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4834 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4835 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4838 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4839 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4840 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4843 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4844 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4847 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4848 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4851 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4852 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4855 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4856 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4859 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4860 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4863 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4864 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4867 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4868 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4872 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4873 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4874 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4878 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4879 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4881 One more special mark, though:
4885 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4886 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4888 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4889 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4890 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4891 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4897 @subsection Other Marks
4898 @cindex process mark
4901 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4907 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4908 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4909 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4910 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4911 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4914 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4915 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4916 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4917 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4920 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4921 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4922 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4925 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4926 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4927 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4928 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4931 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4932 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4933 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4934 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4935 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4938 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4939 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4940 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4941 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4942 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4943 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4947 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4948 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4949 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4951 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4952 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4953 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4957 @subsection Setting Marks
4958 @cindex setting marks
4960 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4965 @kindex M c (Summary)
4966 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4967 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4968 @cindex mark as unread
4969 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4970 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4976 @kindex M t (Summary)
4977 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4978 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4979 @xref{Article Caching}.
4984 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4985 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4986 Mark the current article as dormant
4987 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4991 @kindex M d (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4994 Mark the current article as read
4995 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4999 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5000 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5001 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5006 @kindex M k (Summary)
5007 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5008 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5009 and then select the next unread article
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5014 @kindex M K (Summary)
5015 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5016 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5017 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5018 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5021 @kindex M C (Summary)
5022 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5023 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5024 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5027 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5029 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5030 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5033 @kindex M H (Summary)
5034 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5035 Catchup the current group to point
5036 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5039 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5040 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5041 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5042 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5045 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5046 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5047 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5048 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5052 @kindex M e (Summary)
5054 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5055 Mark the current article as expirable
5056 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5059 @kindex M b (Summary)
5060 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5061 Set a bookmark in the current article
5062 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5065 @kindex M B (Summary)
5066 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5067 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5068 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5071 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5073 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5074 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5077 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5078 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5079 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5080 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5083 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5084 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5085 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5086 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5087 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5090 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5091 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5092 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5093 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5094 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5095 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5096 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5097 The default is @code{t}.
5100 @node Generic Marking Commands
5101 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5103 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5104 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5105 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5106 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5107 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5110 Multiply these five behaviours with five different marking commands, and
5111 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5114 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5115 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5116 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5117 to list in this manual.
5119 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5120 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5121 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5122 article, you could say something like:
5125 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5126 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5127 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5133 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5134 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5138 @node Setting Process Marks
5139 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5140 @cindex setting process marks
5147 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5148 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5149 Mark the current article with the process mark
5150 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5151 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5155 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5156 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5157 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5158 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5161 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5162 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5163 Remove the process mark from all articles
5164 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5167 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5168 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5169 Invert the list of process marked articles
5170 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5173 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5174 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5175 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5176 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5179 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5180 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5181 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5182 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5185 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5186 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5187 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5190 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5191 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5192 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5193 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5196 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5197 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5198 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5199 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5202 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5203 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5204 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5205 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5208 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5209 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5210 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5213 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5214 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5215 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5216 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5219 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5220 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5221 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5224 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5225 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5226 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5227 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5230 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5231 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5232 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5233 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5236 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5237 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5238 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5239 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5242 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5243 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5244 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5245 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5249 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5250 set process marks based on article body contents.
5257 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5258 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5259 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5262 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5263 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5264 additional articles.
5270 @kindex / / (Summary)
5271 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5272 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5273 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5276 @kindex / a (Summary)
5277 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5278 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5279 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5282 @kindex / x (Summary)
5283 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5284 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5285 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5286 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5290 @kindex / u (Summary)
5292 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5293 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5294 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5295 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5296 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5299 @kindex / m (Summary)
5300 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5301 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5302 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5305 @kindex / t (Summary)
5306 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5307 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5308 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5309 articles younger than that number of days.
5312 @kindex / n (Summary)
5313 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5314 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5315 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5316 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5319 @kindex / w (Summary)
5320 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5321 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5322 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5326 @kindex / v (Summary)
5327 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5328 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5329 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5333 @kindex M S (Summary)
5334 @kindex / E (Summary)
5335 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5336 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5337 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5340 @kindex / D (Summary)
5341 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5342 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5343 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5346 @kindex / * (Summary)
5347 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5348 Include all cached articles in the limit
5349 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5352 @kindex / d (Summary)
5353 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5354 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5355 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5358 @kindex / M (Summary)
5359 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5360 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5363 @kindex / T (Summary)
5364 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5365 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5368 @kindex / c (Summary)
5369 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5370 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5371 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5374 @kindex / C (Summary)
5375 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5376 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5377 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5378 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5386 @cindex article threading
5388 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5389 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5390 hierarchical fashion.
5392 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5393 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5394 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5395 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
5396 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5397 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5398 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5400 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5404 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5407 A tree-like article structure.
5410 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5413 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5414 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5415 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5416 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5417 called loose threads.
5419 @item thread gathering
5420 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5422 @item sparse threads
5423 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5424 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5430 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5431 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5435 @node Customizing Threading
5436 @subsection Customizing Threading
5437 @cindex customizing threading
5440 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5441 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5442 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5443 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5448 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5451 @cindex loose threads
5454 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5455 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5456 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5457 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5458 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5459 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5461 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
5462 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
5463 There are four possible values:
5467 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5468 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5469 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5470 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5471 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5476 @cindex adopting articles
5481 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5482 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5483 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5484 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5487 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5488 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5489 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5490 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5491 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5492 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5493 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5496 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5497 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5498 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5502 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5503 display them after one another.
5506 Don't gather loose threads.
5509 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5510 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5511 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5512 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
5513 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5514 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5515 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5516 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5517 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5518 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
5519 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5521 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5522 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
5523 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5526 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5527 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5528 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5529 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5530 simplification is used.
5532 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5533 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5534 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5535 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5537 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5539 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5545 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5546 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5547 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5548 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5553 (mapconcat 'identity
5554 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5556 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5559 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5562 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5563 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5564 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5565 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5566 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5567 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5569 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5572 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5573 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5574 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5576 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5577 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5580 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5581 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5582 Remove excessive whitespace.
5585 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5588 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5589 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5590 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5591 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5592 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5593 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5594 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5595 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5597 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5598 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5599 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5600 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5601 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5602 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5603 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5604 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5605 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5609 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5610 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5611 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5612 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5614 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5615 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5616 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5619 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5623 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5624 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5630 @node Filling In Threads
5631 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5634 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5635 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5636 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5637 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5638 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5639 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5640 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5641 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5642 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5643 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5644 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5645 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
5647 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5648 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5649 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5651 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5652 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5653 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5654 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5655 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5656 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5657 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
5658 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5659 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
5660 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
5661 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5662 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
5663 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5664 @code{nil} by default.
5669 @node More Threading
5670 @subsubsection More Threading
5673 @item gnus-show-threads
5674 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5675 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5676 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5677 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5678 slower and more awkward.
5680 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5681 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5682 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5685 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5686 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5687 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5688 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5689 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5690 threads are expunged.
5692 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5693 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5694 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5697 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5698 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5699 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5700 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5701 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5704 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5705 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5706 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5709 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5710 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5711 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5712 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5713 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5714 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5715 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5716 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5717 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5718 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5719 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5724 @node Low-Level Threading
5725 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5729 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5730 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5731 Hook run before parsing any headers.
5733 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5734 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5735 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5736 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5737 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5738 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5739 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5740 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5741 meaningful. Here's one example:
5744 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5746 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5747 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5749 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5751 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5758 @node Thread Commands
5759 @subsection Thread Commands
5760 @cindex thread commands
5766 @kindex T k (Summary)
5767 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5769 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5770 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5771 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5776 @kindex T l (Summary)
5777 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5778 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5779 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5780 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5783 @kindex T i (Summary)
5784 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5785 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5786 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5789 @kindex T # (Summary)
5790 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5791 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5792 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5795 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5796 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5797 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5798 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5801 @kindex T T (Summary)
5802 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5803 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5806 @kindex T s (Summary)
5807 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5808 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5809 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5812 @kindex T h (Summary)
5813 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5814 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5817 @kindex T S (Summary)
5818 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5819 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5822 @kindex T H (Summary)
5823 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5824 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5827 @kindex T t (Summary)
5828 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5829 Re-thread the current article's thread
5830 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5831 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5834 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5835 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5836 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5837 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5841 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5842 understand the numeric prefix.
5847 @kindex T n (Summary)
5849 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5851 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5852 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5853 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5856 @kindex T p (Summary)
5858 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5860 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5861 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5862 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5865 @kindex T d (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5867 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5870 @kindex T u (Summary)
5871 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5872 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5875 @kindex T o (Summary)
5876 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5877 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5880 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5881 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5882 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5883 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5884 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5885 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5886 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5887 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5888 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5889 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5890 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5891 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5898 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5899 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5900 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5901 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5902 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5903 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5904 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5905 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5906 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5907 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5908 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5910 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5911 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5912 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5913 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5914 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5916 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5917 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5918 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
5920 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
5921 last function in the list. You should probably always include
5922 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5923 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5924 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5925 ascending article order.
5927 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
5928 by number, you could do something like:
5931 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5932 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5933 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5934 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
5937 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5938 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5939 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5940 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5941 which the articles arrived.
5943 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5947 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5949 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5950 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5953 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5954 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5955 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5956 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5959 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5960 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5961 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5962 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5963 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5964 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5965 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5966 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5967 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5968 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5969 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5970 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5971 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5973 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5977 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5978 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5979 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5984 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5985 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5986 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5987 @cindex article pre-fetch
5990 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5991 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5992 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5993 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5994 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5996 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5997 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5999 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6000 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6001 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6002 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6003 connection is blocked.
6005 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6006 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6007 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6008 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
6010 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6011 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6012 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6013 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6016 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6019 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6020 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6021 happen automatically.
6023 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6024 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6025 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6026 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6027 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6028 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6029 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6031 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6032 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6033 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6034 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6035 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6036 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6037 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6038 data structure as the only parameter.
6040 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6043 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6044 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6045 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6046 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6049 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6052 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6053 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
6054 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6056 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6057 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6058 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6059 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6063 Remove articles when they are read.
6066 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6069 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6071 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6072 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6073 @c from the next group.
6076 @node Article Caching
6077 @section Article Caching
6078 @cindex article caching
6081 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6082 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6083 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6084 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6085 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6087 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6089 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6090 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6091 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6092 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6093 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6094 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6095 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
6096 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6098 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6099 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6100 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6101 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6102 as dormant, and don't worry.
6104 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6106 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6107 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6108 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6109 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6110 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6111 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6112 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6113 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6114 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6115 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6117 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6118 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6119 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6120 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6121 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6122 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6123 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6124 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6125 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6126 not then be downloaded by this command.
6128 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6129 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6130 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6131 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6132 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6133 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6135 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6136 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6137 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6138 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6139 variables, the group is not cached.
6141 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6142 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6143 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6144 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6145 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6146 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
6147 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6148 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6149 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6153 @node Persistent Articles
6154 @section Persistent Articles
6155 @cindex persistent articles
6157 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6158 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6159 useful in my opinion.
6161 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6162 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6163 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6164 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6165 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6166 the expiry going on at the news server.
6168 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6169 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6170 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6176 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6177 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6180 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6181 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6182 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6183 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6187 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6189 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6190 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6191 interested in persistent articles:
6194 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6198 @node Article Backlog
6199 @section Article Backlog
6201 @cindex article backlog
6203 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6204 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6205 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
6206 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6207 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6208 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6209 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
6210 increase memory usage some.
6212 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6213 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
6214 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6215 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
6216 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6217 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6218 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6220 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6223 @node Saving Articles
6224 @section Saving Articles
6225 @cindex saving articles
6227 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6228 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6229 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6230 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6231 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6233 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6234 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
6235 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6237 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6238 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6239 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6240 deleted before saving.
6246 @kindex O o (Summary)
6248 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6249 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6250 Save the current article using the default article saver
6251 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6254 @kindex O m (Summary)
6255 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6256 Save the current article in mail format
6257 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6260 @kindex O r (Summary)
6261 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6262 Save the current article in rmail format
6263 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6266 @kindex O f (Summary)
6267 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6268 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6269 Save the current article in plain file format
6270 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6273 @kindex O F (Summary)
6274 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6275 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6276 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6279 @kindex O b (Summary)
6280 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6281 Save the current article body in plain file format
6282 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6285 @kindex O h (Summary)
6286 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6287 Save the current article in mh folder format
6288 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6291 @kindex O v (Summary)
6292 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6293 Save the current article in a VM folder
6294 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6297 @kindex O p (Summary)
6298 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6299 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6300 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6303 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6304 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6305 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6306 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6307 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6308 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6309 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6310 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6311 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6312 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6313 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6314 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6318 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6319 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6320 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6321 functions below, or you can create your own.
6325 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6326 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6327 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6328 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6329 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6330 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6331 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6333 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6334 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6335 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6336 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6337 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6338 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6340 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6341 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6342 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6343 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6344 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6345 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6346 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6348 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6349 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6350 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6351 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6352 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6354 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6355 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6356 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6357 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6358 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6361 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6362 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6363 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6364 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6365 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6367 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6368 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6369 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6370 reader to use this setting.
6373 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6374 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6375 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6376 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6379 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6380 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6381 available functions that generate names:
6385 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6386 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6387 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6389 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6390 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6391 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6393 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6394 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6395 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6397 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6398 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6399 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6402 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6403 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6404 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6405 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6406 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6410 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6411 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6412 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6413 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6416 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6417 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6418 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6419 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6420 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6421 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6422 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6423 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6424 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6426 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6427 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6428 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6429 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6431 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6432 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6433 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6436 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6437 lots of mail groups called things like
6438 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6439 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6440 following will do just that:
6443 (defun my-save-name (group)
6444 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6445 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6447 (setq gnus-split-methods
6448 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6453 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6454 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6455 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6456 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6457 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6458 all the files in the top level directory
6459 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6460 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6461 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6462 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6464 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6465 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6466 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6467 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6468 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6471 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6475 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6476 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6479 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6480 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6481 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6482 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6485 @node Decoding Articles
6486 @section Decoding Articles
6487 @cindex decoding articles
6489 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6490 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6493 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6494 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6495 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6496 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6497 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6498 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6502 @cindex article series
6503 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6504 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6505 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6506 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6507 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6509 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6510 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6511 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6513 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
6514 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6515 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6517 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6518 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6519 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6522 @node Uuencoded Articles
6523 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6525 @cindex uuencoded articles
6530 @kindex X u (Summary)
6531 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6532 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6533 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6536 @kindex X U (Summary)
6537 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6538 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6539 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6542 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6543 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6544 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6547 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6548 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6549 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6550 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6554 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6555 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6556 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6557 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6558 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6560 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6561 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6562 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6563 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6566 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6567 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6568 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6569 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6570 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6571 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6575 @node Shell Archives
6576 @subsection Shell Archives
6578 @cindex shell archives
6579 @cindex shared articles
6581 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6582 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6583 some commands to deal with these:
6588 @kindex X s (Summary)
6589 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6590 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6593 @kindex X S (Summary)
6594 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6595 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6598 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6599 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6600 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6603 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6604 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6605 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6606 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6610 @node PostScript Files
6611 @subsection PostScript Files
6617 @kindex X p (Summary)
6618 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6619 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6622 @kindex X P (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6624 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6625 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6628 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6629 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6630 View the current PostScript series
6631 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6634 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6635 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6636 View and save the current PostScript series
6637 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6642 @subsection Other Files
6646 @kindex X o (Summary)
6647 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6648 Save the current series
6649 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6652 @kindex X b (Summary)
6653 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6654 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6655 doesn't really work yet.
6659 @node Decoding Variables
6660 @subsection Decoding Variables
6662 Adjective, not verb.
6665 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6666 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6667 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6671 @node Rule Variables
6672 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6673 @cindex rule variables
6675 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6676 variables are of the form
6679 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6686 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6687 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6689 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6690 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6693 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6694 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6697 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6698 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6699 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6700 user and default view rules.
6702 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6703 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6704 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6709 @node Other Decode Variables
6710 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6713 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6715 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6716 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6717 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6718 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6719 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6723 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6724 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6727 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6728 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6729 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6732 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6733 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6734 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6735 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6736 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6739 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6740 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6741 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6743 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6744 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6745 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6746 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6747 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6750 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6751 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6752 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6754 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6755 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6756 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6757 looking for files to display.
6759 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6760 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6761 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6764 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6765 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6766 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6769 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6770 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6771 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6774 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6775 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6776 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6779 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6780 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6781 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6782 decoded articles as unread.
6784 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6785 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6786 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6787 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6789 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6790 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6791 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6793 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6794 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6796 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6797 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6798 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6799 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6801 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6802 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6803 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6804 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6805 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6806 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6807 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6808 simply dropped them.
6813 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6814 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6818 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6819 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6820 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6821 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6822 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6823 for you when you post the article.
6825 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6826 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6827 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6828 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6830 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6831 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6832 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6833 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6834 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6835 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6836 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6838 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6839 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6840 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6841 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6842 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6843 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6844 Default is @code{t}.
6850 @subsection Viewing Files
6851 @cindex viewing files
6852 @cindex pseudo-articles
6854 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6855 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6856 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6857 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6858 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6859 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6860 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6862 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6863 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6864 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6865 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6867 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6868 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6869 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6871 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6872 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6873 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6874 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6875 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6877 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6878 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6879 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6880 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6881 a list of parameters to that command.
6883 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6884 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6885 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6887 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6888 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6889 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6892 @node Article Treatment
6893 @section Article Treatment
6895 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6896 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6897 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6898 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6899 these articles easier.
6902 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6903 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6904 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6905 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6906 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6907 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6908 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6909 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6913 @node Article Highlighting
6914 @subsection Article Highlighting
6915 @cindex highlighting
6917 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6918 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6923 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6924 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6925 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6926 Do much highlighting of the current article
6927 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6928 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6931 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6932 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6933 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6934 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6935 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6936 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
6937 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
6938 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6939 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6940 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6941 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6942 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6945 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6946 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6947 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6949 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6952 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6954 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6955 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6956 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6958 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6959 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6960 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6962 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6963 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6964 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6966 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6967 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6968 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6969 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6970 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6971 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6973 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6974 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6975 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6977 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6978 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6979 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6981 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6982 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6983 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6984 that it's a citation.
6986 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6987 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6988 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6990 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6991 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6992 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6994 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6995 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6996 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6997 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7003 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7004 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7005 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7006 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7007 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7008 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7009 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7010 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7015 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7018 @node Article Fontisizing
7019 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7021 @cindex article emphasis
7023 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7024 @kindex W e (Summary)
7025 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7026 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7027 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7028 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7030 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7031 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7032 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7033 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7034 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7035 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7036 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7037 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7041 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7042 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7043 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7052 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7053 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7054 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7055 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7056 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7057 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7058 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7059 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7060 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7061 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7062 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7063 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7064 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7066 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7067 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7068 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7072 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7075 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7077 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7078 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7079 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7080 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7082 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7085 @node Article Hiding
7086 @subsection Article Hiding
7087 @cindex article hiding
7089 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7090 too much cruft in most articles.
7095 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7096 @findex gnus-article-hide
7097 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7098 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7099 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7102 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7103 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
7104 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7108 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7109 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7110 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7111 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7114 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7115 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7116 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7120 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7121 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7122 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7123 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}.
7124 These are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of
7125 all @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any
7126 leading @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping.
7130 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7131 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7132 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7133 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7138 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7139 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7140 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7141 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7142 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7143 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7144 articles that have signatures in them do:
7146 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7148 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7150 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7151 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7153 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7156 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7161 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7162 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7163 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7164 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7167 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7168 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7171 @cindex stripping advertisments
7172 @cindex advertisments
7173 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7174 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7175 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7176 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7177 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7178 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7179 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7180 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7181 signature should be removed.
7184 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7185 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7186 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7187 customizing the hiding:
7191 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7192 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7193 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7194 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7195 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7196 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7197 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7202 Starting point of the hidden text.
7204 Ending point of the hidden text.
7206 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7208 Number of lines of hidden text.
7211 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7212 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7213 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7214 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7215 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7220 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7221 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7223 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7224 following two variables:
7227 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7228 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7229 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7230 50), hide the cited text.
7232 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7233 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7234 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7239 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7240 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7241 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7242 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7243 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7244 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7248 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7249 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7250 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7252 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7253 citation customization.
7255 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7259 @node Article Washing
7260 @subsection Article Washing
7262 @cindex article washing
7264 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7265 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7267 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7268 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7274 @kindex W l (Summary)
7275 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7276 Remove page breaks from the current article
7277 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7281 @kindex W r (Summary)
7282 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7283 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7284 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7285 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7286 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7287 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7289 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7290 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7291 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7292 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7295 @kindex W t (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
7297 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7298 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
7301 @kindex W v (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7303 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7304 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7307 @kindex W o (Summary)
7308 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7309 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7312 @kindex W d (Summary)
7313 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7314 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7316 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
7318 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7319 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7320 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7321 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7325 @kindex W w (Summary)
7326 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7327 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7329 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7333 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7334 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7335 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7338 @kindex W C (Summary)
7339 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7340 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7341 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7344 @kindex W c (Summary)
7345 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7346 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7347 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7348 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7349 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7352 @kindex W q (Summary)
7353 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
7354 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
7355 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
7356 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
7357 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
7358 readable to me. Note that the this is usually done automatically by
7359 Gnus if the message in question has a @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding}
7360 header that says that this encoding has been done.
7363 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7364 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7365 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7366 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7367 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7368 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7369 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7373 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7374 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7375 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7376 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7377 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7380 @kindex W h (Summary)
7381 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7382 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7383 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7384 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7388 @kindex W f (Summary)
7390 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7391 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7392 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7393 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7399 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7400 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7401 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7402 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7403 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7404 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7405 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7406 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7407 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7408 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7409 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7410 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7411 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7412 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7413 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7414 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7415 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7416 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7417 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7418 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7422 @kindex W b (Summary)
7423 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7424 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7425 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7428 @kindex W B (Summary)
7429 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7430 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7431 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7434 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7435 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7436 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7437 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7440 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7442 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7443 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7446 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7447 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7448 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7449 lines with a single empty line.
7450 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7453 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7454 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7455 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7456 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7459 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7460 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7461 Do all the three commands above
7462 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7465 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7466 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7467 Remove all blank lines
7468 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7471 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7473 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7474 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7477 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7478 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7479 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7480 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7484 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7487 @node Article Buttons
7488 @subsection Article Buttons
7491 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7492 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7493 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7494 button on these references.
7496 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7497 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7498 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7503 @item gnus-button-alist
7504 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7505 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7508 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7514 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7515 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7516 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7519 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7520 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7521 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7524 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7525 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7526 avoid false matches.
7529 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7532 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7533 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7537 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7540 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7543 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7544 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7545 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7546 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7547 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7550 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7553 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7555 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7556 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7557 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7558 default values of the variables above.
7560 @item gnus-article-button-face
7561 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7562 Face used on buttons.
7564 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7565 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7566 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7570 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7574 @subsection Article Date
7576 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7577 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7578 when the article was sent.
7583 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7584 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7585 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7586 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7589 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7590 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7592 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7593 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7596 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7597 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7598 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7601 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7602 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7603 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7604 @findex format-time-string
7605 Display the date using a user-defined format
7606 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7607 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7608 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7609 for a list of possible format specs.
7612 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7613 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7614 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7615 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7616 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7617 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7620 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7623 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7624 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7627 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7628 into wonderful absurdities.
7630 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7633 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7636 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7637 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7641 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7642 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7643 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7644 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7645 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7646 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7647 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7651 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7652 preferred format automatically.
7655 @node Article Signature
7656 @subsection Article Signature
7658 @cindex article signature
7660 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7661 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7662 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7663 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7664 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7665 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7666 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7667 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7668 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7671 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7672 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7673 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7674 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7675 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7676 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7677 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7678 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7681 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7684 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7685 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7686 signature when displaying articles.
7690 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7693 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7696 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7697 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7699 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7700 in question is not a signature.
7703 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7704 listed above. Here's an example:
7707 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7708 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7711 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7712 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7713 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7714 signature after all.
7717 @node Article Miscellania
7718 @subsection Article Miscellania
7722 @kindex A t (Summary)
7723 @findex gnus-article-babel
7724 Translate the article from one language to another
7725 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7731 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7732 @cindex MIME decoding
7734 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7735 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7741 @kindex K v (Summary)
7742 View the @sc{mime} part.
7745 @kindex K o (Summary)
7746 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7749 @kindex K c (Summary)
7750 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7753 @kindex K e (Summary)
7754 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7757 @kindex K i (Summary)
7758 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7761 @kindex K | (Summary)
7762 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7765 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7770 @kindex K b (Summary)
7771 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7772 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7776 @kindex K m (Summary)
7777 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7778 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7779 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7780 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7781 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7784 @kindex X m (Summary)
7785 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7786 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7787 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7788 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7791 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7792 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7793 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7794 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7797 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7798 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7799 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7802 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7803 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7804 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7806 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7807 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7808 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7809 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7810 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7811 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7814 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7815 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7816 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7823 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7824 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7825 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7826 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7829 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7832 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7836 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7837 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7838 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7839 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7840 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7842 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7843 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7844 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7845 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7846 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7847 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7848 save all jpegs into some directory).
7850 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7853 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7854 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7856 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7857 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7858 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7859 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7860 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7863 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7864 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7865 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7874 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7875 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7876 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7877 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7878 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7879 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7880 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7882 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7883 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7884 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7885 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7887 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7888 aren't. These blitely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7889 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7890 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7891 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7892 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7893 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7894 something some agents insist on having in there.
7896 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7897 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7898 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7899 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
7900 quoted-printable header encoding.
7902 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
7903 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
7904 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
7908 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
7911 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
7912 means encode all charsets),
7914 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
7915 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
7916 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
7923 @cindex coding system aliases
7924 @cindex preferred charset
7926 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
7928 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
7929 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
7932 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
7933 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
7936 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
7937 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
7939 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
7942 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
7945 This will almost do the right thing.
7947 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
7951 (codepage-setup 1251)
7952 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
7956 @node Article Commands
7957 @section Article Commands
7964 @kindex A P (Summary)
7965 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
7966 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
7967 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
7968 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
7969 run just before printing the buffer.
7974 @node Summary Sorting
7975 @section Summary Sorting
7976 @cindex summary sorting
7978 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
7979 can't really see why you'd want that.
7984 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
7985 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
7986 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
7989 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
7990 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
7991 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
7994 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
7995 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
7996 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
7999 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8000 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8001 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8004 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8005 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8006 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8009 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8010 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8011 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8014 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8015 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8016 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8019 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8020 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8021 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8022 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8023 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8027 @node Finding the Parent
8028 @section Finding the Parent
8029 @cindex parent articles
8030 @cindex referring articles
8035 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8036 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8037 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8038 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8039 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8040 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8041 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8042 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8043 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8045 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8046 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8047 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
8048 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8049 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8053 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8054 @kindex A R (Summary)
8055 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8056 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8059 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8060 @kindex A T (Summary)
8061 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8062 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8063 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8064 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8065 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8066 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8067 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8069 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8070 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8071 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8072 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8073 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8074 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8077 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8078 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8080 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8081 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8082 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8083 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8084 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8085 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8086 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8089 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8090 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8091 by giving this command a prefix.
8093 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8094 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8095 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8096 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8097 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8098 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8101 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8102 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8103 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8106 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8107 then ask Deja if that fails:
8110 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8112 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8115 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8116 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8117 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8118 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8119 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8120 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8123 @node Alternative Approaches
8124 @section Alternative Approaches
8126 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8127 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8130 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8131 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8136 @subsection Pick and Read
8137 @cindex pick and read
8139 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8140 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8141 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8142 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8144 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8145 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8146 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8147 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8148 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8149 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8151 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8156 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8157 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8158 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8159 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8160 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8161 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8162 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8163 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8166 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8167 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8168 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8169 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8173 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8174 Unpick the thread or article
8175 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8176 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8177 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8178 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8179 the thread or article at that line.
8183 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8184 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8185 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8186 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8187 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8188 will still be visible when you are reading.
8192 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8193 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8194 which is mapped to the same function
8195 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8197 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8200 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8203 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8204 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8206 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8207 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8208 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8210 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8211 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8212 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8213 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8214 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8215 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8216 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8220 @subsection Binary Groups
8221 @cindex binary groups
8223 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8224 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8225 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8226 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8227 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8228 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8229 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8232 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8233 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8234 command, when you have turned on this mode
8235 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8237 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8238 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8242 @section Tree Display
8245 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8246 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
8247 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8248 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8251 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8254 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8255 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8256 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8258 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8259 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8260 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8261 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8262 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8264 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8265 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8266 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8267 default is @code{modeline}.
8269 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8270 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8271 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8272 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8273 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8274 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8275 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8281 The name of the poster.
8283 The @code{From} header.
8285 The number of the article.
8287 The opening bracket.
8289 The closing bracket.
8294 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8296 Variables related to the display are:
8299 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8300 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8301 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8302 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8303 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8304 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8306 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8307 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8308 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8309 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8313 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8314 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8315 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
8316 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
8317 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8318 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8319 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8320 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8321 other windows displayed next to it.
8323 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8324 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8325 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8326 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8327 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8328 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8329 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8333 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8336 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8346 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8350 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8351 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8353 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8355 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8360 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8361 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8362 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8365 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8366 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8367 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8368 (gnus-add-configuration
8372 (summary 0.75 point)
8377 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8380 @node Mail Group Commands
8381 @section Mail Group Commands
8382 @cindex mail group commands
8384 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8385 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8387 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8388 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8393 @kindex B e (Summary)
8394 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8395 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8396 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8399 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8400 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8401 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8402 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8403 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8404 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8407 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8408 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8409 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8410 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8411 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8412 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8415 @kindex B m (Summary)
8417 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8418 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8419 Move the article from one mail group to another
8420 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8421 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8424 @kindex B c (Summary)
8426 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8427 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8428 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8429 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8430 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8433 @kindex B B (Summary)
8434 @cindex crosspost mail
8435 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8436 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8437 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8438 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8439 be properly updated.
8442 @kindex B i (Summary)
8443 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8444 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8445 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8446 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8449 @kindex B r (Summary)
8450 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8451 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8452 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8453 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8454 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8455 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8456 (which is the default).
8460 @kindex B w (Summary)
8462 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8463 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8464 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8465 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8466 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8467 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8470 @kindex B q (Summary)
8471 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8472 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8473 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8474 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8477 @kindex B t (Summary)
8478 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8479 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8480 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8483 @kindex B p (Summary)
8484 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8485 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8486 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8487 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8488 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8489 article from your news server (or rather, from
8490 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8491 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8492 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8493 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8494 just not have arrived yet.
8498 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8499 @cindex moving articles
8500 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
8501 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8502 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8503 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8504 suggestions you find reasonable.
8507 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8508 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8509 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8510 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8514 @node Various Summary Stuff
8515 @section Various Summary Stuff
8518 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8519 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8520 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8521 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8525 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8526 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8527 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8529 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8530 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8531 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8532 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8533 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8534 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8537 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8538 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8539 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8540 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8541 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8543 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8544 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8545 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8548 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8549 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8550 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8551 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8552 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8553 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8554 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
8555 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8556 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8557 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8559 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8560 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8561 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8562 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8563 list of articles to be selected.
8565 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8566 the list in one particular group:
8569 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8570 (if (string= group "some.group")
8571 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8578 @node Summary Group Information
8579 @subsection Summary Group Information
8584 @kindex H f (Summary)
8585 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8586 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8587 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8588 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8589 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8590 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8591 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8592 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8593 be used for fetching the file.
8596 @kindex H d (Summary)
8597 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8598 Give a brief description of the current group
8599 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8600 rereading the description from the server.
8603 @kindex H h (Summary)
8604 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8605 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8606 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8609 @kindex H i (Summary)
8610 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8611 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8615 @node Searching for Articles
8616 @subsection Searching for Articles
8621 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8622 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8623 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8624 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8627 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8628 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8629 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8630 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8634 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8635 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8636 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8637 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8638 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8639 search backward instead.
8641 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8642 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8645 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8646 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8647 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8648 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8651 @node Summary Generation Commands
8652 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8657 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8658 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8659 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8662 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8663 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8664 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8665 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8670 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8671 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8677 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8678 @kindex A D (Summary)
8679 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8680 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8681 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8682 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8683 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8684 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8685 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8686 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8690 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8691 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8692 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8693 several documents into one biiig group
8694 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8695 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8696 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8697 command understands the process/prefix convention
8698 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8701 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8702 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8703 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8704 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8705 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8706 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8710 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8711 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8712 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8715 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8716 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8717 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8718 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8721 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8722 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8723 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8724 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8729 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8730 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8731 @cindex summary exit
8732 @cindex exiting groups
8734 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8735 group and return you to the group buffer.
8741 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8743 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8744 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8745 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8746 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8747 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8748 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8749 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8750 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8751 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8752 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8753 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8757 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8759 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8760 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8761 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8765 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8767 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8768 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8769 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8770 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8773 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8774 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8775 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8776 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8779 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8780 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8781 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8782 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8785 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8786 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8787 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8788 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8789 all articles, both read and unread.
8793 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8794 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8795 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8796 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8797 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8798 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8799 articles, both read and unread.
8802 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8803 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8804 Exit the group and go to the next group
8805 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8808 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8809 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8810 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8811 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8814 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8815 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8816 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8817 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8818 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8819 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8822 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8823 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8824 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8825 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8827 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8828 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8829 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8830 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8831 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8832 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8833 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8834 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8835 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8836 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8837 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8838 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8840 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8842 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8843 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8844 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8845 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8846 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8847 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8848 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8849 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8850 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8853 @node Crosspost Handling
8854 @section Crosspost Handling
8858 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8859 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8860 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8861 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8862 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8863 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8866 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8867 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8868 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8869 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8870 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8872 @cindex cross-posting
8875 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8876 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8877 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8878 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8879 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8880 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8881 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8882 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8883 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8884 the cross reference mechanism.
8886 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8887 @cindex overview.fmt
8888 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8889 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8890 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8891 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8892 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8893 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8896 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8897 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
8898 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
8903 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
8906 @node Duplicate Suppression
8907 @section Duplicate Suppression
8909 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
8910 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
8911 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
8912 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
8917 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
8918 is evil and not very common.
8921 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
8922 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
8925 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
8926 different @sc{nntp} servers.
8929 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
8932 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
8933 well, but these four are the most common situations.
8935 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
8936 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
8937 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
8938 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
8939 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
8940 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
8941 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
8944 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
8945 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
8946 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
8947 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
8948 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
8952 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
8953 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
8954 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
8956 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
8957 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
8958 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
8959 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
8960 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
8961 session are suppressed.
8963 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
8964 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
8965 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
8966 suppression list. The default is 10000.
8968 @item gnus-duplicate-file
8969 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
8970 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
8971 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
8974 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
8975 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
8976 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
8977 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
8978 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
8979 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
8980 to you to figure out, I think.
8983 @node The Article Buffer
8984 @chapter The Article Buffer
8985 @cindex article buffer
8987 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
8988 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
8989 tell Gnus otherwise.
8992 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
8993 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
8994 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
8995 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
8996 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9000 @node Hiding Headers
9001 @section Hiding Headers
9002 @cindex hiding headers
9003 @cindex deleting headers
9005 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9006 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9008 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9009 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9010 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9011 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9012 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9013 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9014 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9015 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9016 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9018 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9022 @item gnus-visible-headers
9023 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9024 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9025 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9026 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9028 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9029 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9032 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9035 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9038 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9039 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9040 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9041 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9042 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9043 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9045 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
9046 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
9049 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9052 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9055 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9056 variable will have no effect.
9060 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9061 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9062 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9063 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9064 the headers are to be displayed.
9066 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9067 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9070 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9073 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9074 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9076 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9077 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9078 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9079 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-header} to @code{head}. What this function
9080 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9081 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9082 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9085 These conditions are:
9088 Remove all empty headers.
9090 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9091 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9093 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9096 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9099 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9102 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9104 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9107 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9110 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9111 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9114 This is also the default value for this variable.
9118 @section Using @sc{mime}
9121 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9122 while people stand around yawning.
9124 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9125 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9127 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9128 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9129 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9131 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
9132 @findex gnus-display-mime
9133 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
9134 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
9135 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
9136 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
9138 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
9142 @findex gnus-article-press-button
9144 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
9145 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
9146 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
9148 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
9149 @item M-RET (Article)
9151 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
9152 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
9154 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
9156 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
9157 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
9159 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
9161 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
9162 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
9164 @findex gnus-mime-view-part-as-type
9166 View the @sc{mime} object as if it were a different @sc{mime} media type
9167 (@code{gnus-mime-view-part-as-type}).
9169 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
9171 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
9173 @findex gnus-mime-inline-part
9175 Insert the raw contents of the @sc{mime} object into the buffer
9176 (@code{gnus-mime-inline-part}).
9180 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
9181 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
9184 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
9185 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
9186 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
9187 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
9188 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
9189 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
9190 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
9191 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
9192 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
9194 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9196 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9199 @node Customizing Articles
9200 @section Customizing Articles
9201 @cindex article customization
9203 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9204 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9205 called automatically when you select the articles.
9207 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9208 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9209 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9210 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9212 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9213 for sensible values.
9217 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9220 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9223 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9226 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9229 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9233 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9234 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9235 regexps in the list.
9238 A list where the first element is not a string:
9240 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9241 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9242 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9246 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9251 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9252 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9253 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9254 considered to contain just a single part.
9256 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9257 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9258 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9259 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9260 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9261 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9262 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9264 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9265 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9266 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9267 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9270 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9271 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9272 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9273 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9274 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9275 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9276 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9277 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9278 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9279 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9280 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9281 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9282 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9283 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9284 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9285 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9286 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9287 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9288 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9289 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9290 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9291 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9292 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9293 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9294 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9295 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9296 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9297 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9298 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9299 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9300 @item gnus-treat-translate
9303 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9304 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9305 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9306 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9307 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9311 @node Article Keymap
9312 @section Article Keymap
9314 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9315 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9316 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9317 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9320 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9325 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9326 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9327 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9330 @kindex DEL (Article)
9331 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9332 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9335 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9336 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9337 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9338 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9339 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9342 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9343 @findex gnus-article-mail
9344 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9345 given a prefix, include the mail.
9349 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9350 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9351 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9355 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9356 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9357 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9360 @kindex TAB (Article)
9361 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9362 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9363 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9366 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9367 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9368 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9374 @section Misc Article
9378 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9379 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9380 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9381 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9384 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9385 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9387 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9388 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9390 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9391 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9392 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9393 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9394 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9395 the contents of the article buffer.
9397 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9398 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9399 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9401 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9402 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9403 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9404 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9406 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9407 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9408 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9409 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9410 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9415 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9416 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9419 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9422 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9424 @item gnus-break-pages
9425 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9426 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9427 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9428 paging will not be done.
9430 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9431 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9432 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9437 @node Composing Messages
9438 @chapter Composing Messages
9439 @cindex composing messages
9442 @cindex sending mail
9447 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9448 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9449 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9450 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9451 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9452 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9455 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9456 * Post:: Posting and following up.
9457 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9458 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9459 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9460 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9461 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9462 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9465 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9466 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9472 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9475 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9476 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9477 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9478 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9480 @item gnus-add-to-list
9481 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9482 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9483 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9485 @item message-send-mail-partially-limit
9486 @vindex message-send-mail-partially-limit
9487 The limitation of messages sent as message/partial.
9488 The lower bound of message size in characters, beyond which the message
9489 should be sent in several parts. If it is nil, the size is unlimited.
9497 Variables for composing news articles:
9500 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9501 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
9502 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
9503 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
9504 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
9505 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
9506 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
9507 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
9508 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
9511 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9512 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
9513 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
9514 file. It is 1000 by default.
9519 @node Posting Server
9520 @section Posting Server
9522 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9523 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9525 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9527 @vindex gnus-post-method
9529 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
9530 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9531 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9532 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9533 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9536 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9539 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9540 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9541 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9542 the ``current'' server for posting.
9544 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9545 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9547 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9548 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9551 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9552 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9553 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9558 @section Mail and Post
9560 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9564 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9565 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9566 @cindex mailing lists
9568 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9569 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9570 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9571 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9572 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9573 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9574 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9575 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9576 still a pain, though.
9580 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9581 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9582 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9585 @findex ispell-message
9587 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9590 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9591 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9594 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9597 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9598 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9600 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9603 Modify to suit your needs.
9606 @node Archived Messages
9607 @section Archived Messages
9608 @cindex archived messages
9609 @cindex sent messages
9611 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9612 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9613 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9614 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9617 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9618 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
9619 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9623 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9624 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9625 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9626 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9629 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9630 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
9631 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9632 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9635 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9636 '(nnfolder "archive"
9637 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9638 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9639 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9642 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9644 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9645 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9646 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9648 This variable can be used to do the following:
9652 Messages will be saved in that group.
9653 @item a list of strings
9654 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9655 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9656 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9658 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9663 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9665 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9668 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9670 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9673 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9675 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9676 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9677 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9678 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9683 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9684 '((if (message-news-p)
9689 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9690 messages in one file per month:
9693 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9694 '((if (message-news-p)
9696 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9699 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9700 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9702 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9703 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9704 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9705 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9706 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9707 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9708 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9709 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9710 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9711 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9713 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9714 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9715 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9716 this will disable archiving.
9719 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9720 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9721 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9722 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9723 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9726 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9727 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9728 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9731 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9732 but the latter is the preferred method.
9736 @node Posting Styles
9737 @section Posting Styles
9738 @cindex posting styles
9741 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9743 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9744 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9745 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9748 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9749 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9750 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9751 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9752 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9757 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9758 (organization "What me?"))
9760 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9761 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9762 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9765 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9766 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9767 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9768 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9769 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9770 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9771 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9772 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9774 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9775 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9776 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9777 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9778 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9779 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9780 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9781 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9784 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9785 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9786 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9787 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9788 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9789 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9790 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9791 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9792 result is thrown away.
9794 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9795 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9796 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9797 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9798 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9799 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9801 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9802 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9803 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9805 @findex message-mail-p
9806 @findex message-news-p
9808 So here's a new example:
9811 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9813 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9815 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9816 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9818 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9819 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9820 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9822 (signature my-news-signature))
9823 (header "From.*To" "larsi.*org"
9824 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9825 ((posting-from-work-p)
9826 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9827 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9828 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9829 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9831 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9839 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9840 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9841 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9842 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9843 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9845 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9846 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9847 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9848 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9849 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9853 @vindex nndraft-directory
9854 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9855 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9856 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9857 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9858 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9859 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9861 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9862 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9865 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9866 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9867 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9868 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9869 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9870 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9871 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9872 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9873 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9874 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9875 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9876 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9877 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9878 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9880 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9881 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9882 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9884 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9886 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9887 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9888 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9890 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9893 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9894 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
9895 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
9896 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
9897 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
9898 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
9899 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
9902 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
9903 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
9904 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
9907 @node Rejected Articles
9908 @section Rejected Articles
9909 @cindex rejected articles
9911 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
9912 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
9913 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
9914 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
9916 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
9917 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
9918 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
9919 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
9920 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
9922 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
9923 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
9924 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
9927 @node Select Methods
9928 @chapter Select Methods
9929 @cindex foreign groups
9930 @cindex select methods
9932 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
9933 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
9934 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
9935 personal mail group.
9937 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
9938 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
9939 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
9940 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
9941 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
9942 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
9944 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
9945 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
9947 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
9950 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
9951 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
9952 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
9953 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
9954 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
9956 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
9959 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
9960 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
9961 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
9962 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
9963 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
9964 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
9965 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
9969 @node The Server Buffer
9970 @section The Server Buffer
9972 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
9973 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
9974 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
9975 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
9976 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
9977 backend represents a virtual server.
9979 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
9980 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
9981 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
9982 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
9984 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
9985 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
9986 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
9987 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
9988 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
9989 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
9990 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
9992 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
9993 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
9996 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
9997 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
9998 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
9999 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10000 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10001 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10002 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10005 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10006 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10009 @node Server Buffer Format
10010 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10011 @cindex server buffer format
10013 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10014 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10015 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10016 variable, with some simple extensions:
10021 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10024 The name of this server.
10027 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10030 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10033 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10034 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10035 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10036 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10046 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10049 @node Server Commands
10050 @subsection Server Commands
10051 @cindex server commands
10057 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10058 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10062 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10063 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10066 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10067 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10068 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10072 @findex gnus-server-exit
10073 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10077 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10078 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10082 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10083 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10087 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10088 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10092 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10093 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10097 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10098 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10099 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10104 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10105 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10106 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10107 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
10112 @node Example Methods
10113 @subsection Example Methods
10115 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10118 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10121 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10127 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10128 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10131 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10132 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10134 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10135 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10139 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10142 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10143 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10145 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10146 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10147 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10151 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10154 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10157 Here's the method for a public spool:
10161 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10162 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10168 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10169 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10170 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10171 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10172 should probably look something like this:
10176 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10177 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10178 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10179 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10180 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10183 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10184 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10185 server that would look something like this:
10189 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10190 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10191 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10192 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10193 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10194 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10197 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10198 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10199 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10200 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10203 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10204 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10206 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10207 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10209 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10210 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10211 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10213 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10215 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10216 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10217 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10218 will contain the following:
10228 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10229 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10230 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10233 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10234 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10235 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10238 @node Server Variables
10239 @subsection Server Variables
10241 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10242 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10243 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10244 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10245 won't change the "derived" variables.
10247 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10248 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10249 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10250 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10251 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10252 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10253 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10254 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10255 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10259 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10260 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10261 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10265 @node Servers and Methods
10266 @subsection Servers and Methods
10268 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10269 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10270 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10271 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10275 @node Unavailable Servers
10276 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10278 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10279 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10280 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10281 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10282 actually the case or not.
10284 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10285 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10286 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10287 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10288 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10289 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10290 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10291 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10293 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10294 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10296 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10297 with the following commands:
10303 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10304 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10305 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10309 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10310 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10311 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10315 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10316 Mark the current server as unreachable
10317 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10320 @kindex M-o (Server)
10321 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10322 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10323 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10326 @kindex M-c (Server)
10327 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10328 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10329 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10333 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10334 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10335 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10341 @section Getting News
10342 @cindex reading news
10343 @cindex news backends
10345 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10346 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10347 or it can read from a local spool.
10350 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10351 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10356 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10359 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10360 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10361 server as the, uhm, address.
10363 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10364 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10365 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10366 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10368 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10369 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10370 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10372 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10377 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10378 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10379 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10381 @cindex authentification
10382 @cindex nntp authentification
10383 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10384 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10385 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10386 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10387 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10388 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10389 present in this hook.
10391 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10392 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10393 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10394 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10395 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10396 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10397 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10398 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10399 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10400 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10401 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10402 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10406 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10409 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
10410 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10411 @samp{default}, @samp{port} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a
10412 valid @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is almost the only way the
10413 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
10418 Here's an example file:
10421 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10422 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10425 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10426 have to be first, for instance.
10428 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10429 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10430 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10431 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10432 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10433 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10434 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10436 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10437 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10443 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10444 previously mentioned.
10446 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10448 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10449 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10450 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10451 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10452 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10455 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10456 '(("innd" (ding))))
10459 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10461 The default value is
10464 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10465 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10468 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10469 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10471 @item nntp-maximum-request
10472 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10473 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10474 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10475 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10476 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10477 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10478 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10480 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10481 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10482 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10483 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10484 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10485 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10486 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10487 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10488 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10489 no timeouts are done.
10491 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10492 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10493 @c @cindex PPP connections
10494 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10495 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10496 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10497 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10498 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10499 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10500 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10501 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10502 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10503 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10505 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10506 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10507 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10508 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10509 @c described above.
10511 @item nntp-server-hook
10512 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10513 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10516 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10517 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10518 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10519 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10520 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10521 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10522 functions are supplied:
10525 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10526 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10529 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10530 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10531 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10534 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10538 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10539 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10540 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10541 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10543 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10544 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10545 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10547 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10548 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10549 User name on the remote system.
10553 @item nntp-open-telnet
10554 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10555 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10557 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10560 @item nntp-telnet-command
10561 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10562 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10564 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10565 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10566 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10568 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10569 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10570 User name for log in on the remote system.
10572 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10573 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10574 Password to use when logging in.
10576 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10577 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10578 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10581 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10582 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10583 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10584 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10586 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10587 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10588 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10589 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10590 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10594 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10595 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10596 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10597 you must have SSLay installed
10598 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10599 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
10600 define a server as follows:
10603 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10605 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10607 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10608 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10609 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10610 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10615 @item nntp-end-of-line
10616 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10617 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10618 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10619 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10621 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10622 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10623 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10627 @vindex nntp-address
10628 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10630 @item nntp-port-number
10631 @vindex nntp-port-number
10632 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10635 @item nntp-buggy-select
10636 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10637 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10639 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10640 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10641 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10642 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10645 @item nntp-xover-commands
10646 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10649 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10650 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10654 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10655 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10656 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10657 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10658 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10659 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10660 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10661 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10662 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10663 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10664 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10666 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10667 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10668 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10670 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10671 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10672 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10673 server closes connection.
10675 @item nntp-record-commands
10676 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10677 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10678 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10679 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10680 that doesn't seem to work.
10686 @subsection News Spool
10690 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10691 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10692 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10695 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10696 anything else) as the address.
10698 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10699 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10700 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10701 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10705 @item nnspool-inews-program
10706 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10707 Program used to post an article.
10709 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10710 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10711 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10713 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10714 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10715 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10716 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10718 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10719 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10720 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10721 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10723 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10724 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10725 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10727 @item nnspool-active-file
10728 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10729 The path to the active file.
10731 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10732 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10733 The path to the group descriptions file.
10735 @item nnspool-history-file
10736 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10737 The path to the news history file.
10739 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10740 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10741 The path to the active date file.
10743 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10744 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10745 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10748 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10749 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10751 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10752 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10753 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10759 @section Getting Mail
10760 @cindex reading mail
10763 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10767 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10768 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10769 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10770 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10771 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10772 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10773 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10774 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10775 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10776 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10777 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10778 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10779 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10783 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10784 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10786 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10787 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10788 of a culture shock.
10790 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10791 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10793 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10794 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10795 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10796 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10798 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10800 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10801 deleted? How awful!
10803 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10804 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10805 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10806 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
10809 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
10810 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
10811 they want to treat a message.
10813 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
10814 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
10815 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
10816 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
10817 archived somewhere else.
10819 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
10820 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
10821 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
10822 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
10823 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
10825 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
10826 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
10827 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
10829 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
10830 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
10833 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
10834 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
10835 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
10836 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
10837 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
10839 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
10840 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
10841 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
10842 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
10843 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
10844 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
10848 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
10849 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
10851 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
10852 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
10853 and things will happen automatically.
10855 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
10856 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
10859 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
10860 '((nnml "private")))
10863 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
10864 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
10865 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
10866 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
10867 like any other group.
10869 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
10872 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10873 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10874 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10878 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
10879 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
10880 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
10883 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
10884 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
10885 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
10888 @node Splitting Mail
10889 @subsection Splitting Mail
10890 @cindex splitting mail
10891 @cindex mail splitting
10893 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
10894 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
10895 to be split into groups.
10898 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10899 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
10900 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
10901 ("mail.other" "")))
10904 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
10905 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
10906 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
10907 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
10908 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
10909 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
10910 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
10913 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
10916 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
10917 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
10918 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
10919 mail belongs in that group.
10921 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
10922 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
10923 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
10924 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
10925 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
10926 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
10928 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
10929 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
10930 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
10931 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
10932 thinks should carry this mail message.
10934 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
10935 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
10936 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
10937 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
10939 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
10940 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
10941 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
10942 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
10943 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
10945 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
10948 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
10949 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
10950 links. If that's the case for you, set
10951 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
10952 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
10954 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
10955 @kindex nnmail-split-history
10956 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
10957 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
10958 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
10959 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
10962 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
10963 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
10964 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
10965 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
10966 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
10967 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
10968 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
10969 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
10970 month's rent money.
10974 @subsection Mail Sources
10976 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
10977 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
10981 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
10982 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
10983 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
10987 @node Mail Source Specifiers
10988 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
10990 @cindex mail server
10993 @cindex mail source
10995 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
10996 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11001 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11004 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11005 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11006 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11009 The following mail source types are available:
11013 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11019 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11020 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11023 An example file mail source:
11026 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11029 Or using the default path:
11035 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11036 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not you ange-ftp
11037 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11040 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11044 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11047 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11051 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11054 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11056 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11059 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11063 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11064 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11065 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11066 scan the mail source only once.
11072 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11076 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11080 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11081 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11082 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11083 predicate are considered.
11087 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11091 An example directory mail source:
11094 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11099 Get mail from a POP server.
11105 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11106 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11109 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11110 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11111 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11112 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}.
11115 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11119 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11123 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11124 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11127 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11130 The valid format specifier characters are:
11134 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11135 included in this string.
11138 The name of the server.
11141 The port number of the server.
11144 The user name to use.
11147 The password to use.
11150 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11151 corresponding keywords.
11154 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11155 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11158 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11159 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11162 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11163 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11166 @item :authentication
11167 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11168 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11173 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11174 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11176 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11177 default user name, and default fetcher:
11183 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11186 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11187 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11190 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11193 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11197 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11198 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11199 contains exactly one mail.
11205 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11206 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11209 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11210 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11212 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11213 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11214 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11217 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11218 from locking problems).
11222 Two example maildir mail sources:
11225 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11229 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11233 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11234 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11235 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11236 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11242 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11243 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11246 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11247 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11250 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11254 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11258 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11259 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11260 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11262 @item :authenticator
11263 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11264 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11265 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11269 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11270 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11273 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11274 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11275 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11276 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11277 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11278 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11281 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{Deleted}
11282 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{Seen} which
11283 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11284 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11287 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11288 after finishing the fetch.
11292 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11295 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11299 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11300 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11302 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11305 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11306 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11308 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11314 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11315 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11318 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11322 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11326 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11327 folder after finishing the fetch.
11331 An example webmail source:
11334 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11339 @item Common Keywords
11340 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11346 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11347 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11351 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11356 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11357 useful when you use local mail and news.
11362 @node Mail Source Customization
11363 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11365 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11366 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11370 @item mail-source-crash-box
11371 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11372 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11373 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11375 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11376 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11377 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11379 @item mail-source-directory
11380 @vindex mail-source-directory
11381 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11382 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11383 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11386 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11387 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11388 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11393 @node Fetching Mail
11394 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11396 @vindex mail-sources
11397 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11398 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11399 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11400 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11402 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11403 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11406 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11407 mail server, you'd say something like:
11412 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11413 :password "secret")))
11416 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11420 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11421 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11424 :password "secret")))
11428 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11429 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11430 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11431 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11432 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11433 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11437 @node Mail Backend Variables
11438 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11440 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11444 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11445 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11446 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11447 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11449 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11450 @item nnmail-split-hook
11451 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11452 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11453 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11454 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11455 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11456 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11457 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11458 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11459 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11462 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11463 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11464 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11465 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11466 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11467 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11468 starting to handle the new mail) and
11469 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11470 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11471 default file modes the new mail files get:
11474 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11475 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11477 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11478 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11481 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11482 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11483 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11484 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11485 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11486 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11487 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11489 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11490 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11491 @findex delete-file
11492 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11494 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11495 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11496 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11497 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11498 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11503 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11504 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11505 @cindex mail splitting
11506 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11508 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11509 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11510 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11511 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11512 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11513 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11515 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11518 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11519 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11520 ;; from real errors.
11521 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11523 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11524 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11525 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11526 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11527 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11528 ;; Other mailing lists...
11529 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11530 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11531 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11532 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11533 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11534 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11535 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11536 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11538 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11539 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11543 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11544 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11545 the five possible split syntaxes:
11550 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11551 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11555 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11556 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11557 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11558 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11559 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11560 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11561 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11562 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11565 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11566 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11567 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11568 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11571 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11572 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11575 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11576 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11579 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11580 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11581 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11582 function should return a @var{split}.
11585 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11586 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11587 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11591 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11595 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11596 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11597 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11598 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11599 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11601 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11602 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11603 are expanded as specified by the variable
11604 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11605 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11608 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11609 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11610 when all this splitting is performed.
11612 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11613 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11614 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11617 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11620 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11621 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11623 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11624 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11625 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11626 groupings 1 through 9.
11629 @node Group Mail Splitting
11630 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11631 @cindex mail splitting
11632 @cindex group mail splitting
11634 @findex gnus-group-split
11635 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11636 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11637 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11638 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11639 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11640 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11641 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11642 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11644 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11645 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11646 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11647 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11649 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11650 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11651 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11652 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11653 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11654 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11655 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11657 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11658 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11659 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11660 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11661 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11662 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11663 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11665 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11666 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11667 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11668 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11669 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11670 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11671 that group is used as the catch-all group. Note that, in this case,
11672 there's no cross-posting, as a @code{|} fancy split encloses the
11673 @code{&} split and the catch-all group.
11675 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11680 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11681 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11683 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11684 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11685 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11686 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11688 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11691 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11692 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11693 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11696 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11697 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11698 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11702 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11703 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11704 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11708 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11711 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11712 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11713 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11714 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} may be the name
11715 of a group to be used as the default catch-all group. If
11716 @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11717 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11718 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11719 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11721 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11722 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11723 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
11724 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
11725 used to select @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
11726 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
11727 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
11728 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
11729 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
11731 @findex gnus-group-split-update
11732 However, if you change group parameters, you have to update
11733 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
11734 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
11735 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
11736 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
11739 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
11742 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
11743 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
11744 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
11745 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional),
11746 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
11749 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
11750 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
11751 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
11752 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
11754 @node Incorporating Old Mail
11755 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
11757 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
11758 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
11759 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
11762 Doing so can be quite easy.
11764 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
11765 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
11766 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
11767 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
11768 your @code{nnml} groups.
11774 Go to the group buffer.
11777 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
11778 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
11781 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
11784 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
11785 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
11788 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
11789 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
11792 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
11793 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
11794 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
11795 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
11796 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
11798 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
11799 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
11800 using the new mail backend.
11803 @node Expiring Mail
11804 @subsection Expiring Mail
11805 @cindex article expiry
11807 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
11808 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
11809 different approach to mail reading.
11811 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
11812 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
11813 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
11814 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
11815 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
11816 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
11819 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
11820 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
11821 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
11822 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
11823 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
11824 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
11825 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
11826 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
11828 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11829 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
11830 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
11831 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
11832 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
11833 column in the summary buffer.
11835 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
11836 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
11837 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
11838 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
11841 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
11843 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
11844 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
11845 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
11848 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
11849 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
11850 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
11851 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
11852 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
11854 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
11855 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
11858 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
11859 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
11862 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
11863 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
11865 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
11866 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
11867 don't really mix very well.
11869 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
11870 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
11871 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
11872 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
11875 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
11876 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
11877 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
11878 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
11881 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11883 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
11885 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
11887 ((string= group "mail.junk")
11889 ((string= group "important")
11895 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
11896 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
11898 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
11899 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
11900 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
11903 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
11904 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
11906 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
11907 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
11908 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
11909 other groups instead of deleting them. The @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
11910 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
11911 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
11912 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
11913 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
11914 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
11915 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
11918 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
11919 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
11920 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
11921 easier for procmail users.
11923 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
11924 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
11925 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
11926 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
11927 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
11928 caution. Even more dangerous is the
11929 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
11930 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
11931 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
11932 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
11933 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
11934 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
11935 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
11938 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
11940 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
11941 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
11942 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
11943 auto-expire turned on.
11947 @subsection Washing Mail
11948 @cindex mail washing
11949 @cindex list server brain damage
11950 @cindex incoming mail treatment
11952 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
11953 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
11954 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
11955 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
11956 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
11957 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
11959 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
11960 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
11961 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
11964 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
11965 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
11966 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
11967 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
11970 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11971 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
11972 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
11973 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
11974 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
11977 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11978 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
11979 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
11980 Emacs running on MS machines.
11984 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11985 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
11986 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
11987 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
11990 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11991 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
11992 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
11993 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
11995 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11996 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
11997 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
11998 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
11999 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12000 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12001 also be a list of regexp.
12003 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12004 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12007 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12008 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12011 This can also be done non-destructively with
12012 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12014 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12015 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12016 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12018 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12019 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12021 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12022 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12023 @code{References} headers.
12027 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12028 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12029 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12033 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12034 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12035 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12042 @subsection Duplicates
12044 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12045 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12046 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12047 @cindex duplicate mails
12048 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12049 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12050 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12051 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12052 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12053 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12054 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12055 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12056 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12057 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12058 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12059 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12060 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12062 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12063 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12064 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12065 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12067 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12070 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12071 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12075 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12076 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12077 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12078 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12079 (any mail "mail.misc")
12086 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12087 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12092 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12093 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12094 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12095 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12096 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12099 @node Not Reading Mail
12100 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12102 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12103 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12104 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12106 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12107 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12108 mail, which should help.
12110 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12111 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12112 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12113 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12114 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12115 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12116 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12117 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12118 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12119 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12120 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12122 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12123 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12127 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12128 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12130 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12131 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12132 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12134 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12135 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12136 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12137 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12140 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12141 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12142 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12143 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12144 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12145 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12149 @node Unix Mail Box
12150 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12152 @cindex unix mail box
12154 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12155 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12156 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12157 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12158 which group it belongs in.
12160 Virtual server settings:
12163 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12164 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12165 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12167 @item nnmbox-active-file
12168 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12169 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12171 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12172 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12173 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12179 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12183 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12184 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12185 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12186 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12187 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12189 Virtual server settings:
12192 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12193 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12194 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12196 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12197 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12198 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12200 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12201 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12202 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12207 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12209 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12211 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12212 format. It should be used with some caution.
12214 @vindex nnml-directory
12215 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12216 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12217 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12218 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12220 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12223 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12224 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12225 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12226 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12227 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12228 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12229 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12230 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12232 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12233 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12234 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12235 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12237 Virtual server settings:
12240 @item nnml-directory
12241 @vindex nnml-directory
12242 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12244 @item nnml-active-file
12245 @vindex nnml-active-file
12246 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12248 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12249 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12250 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12253 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12254 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12255 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12257 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12258 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12259 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12261 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12262 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12263 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12265 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12266 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12267 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12271 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12272 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12273 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12274 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12275 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12276 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12277 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12282 @subsubsection MH Spool
12284 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12286 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12287 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12288 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12289 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12291 Virtual server settings:
12294 @item nnmh-directory
12295 @vindex nnmh-directory
12296 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12298 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12299 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12300 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12303 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12304 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12305 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12306 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12307 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12308 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12309 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12314 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12316 @cindex mbox folders
12317 @cindex mail folders
12319 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12320 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12321 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12324 Virtual server settings:
12327 @item nnfolder-directory
12328 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12329 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12331 @item nnfolder-active-file
12332 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12333 The name of the active file.
12335 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12336 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12337 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12339 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12340 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12341 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12343 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12344 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12345 @cindex backup files
12346 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12347 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12348 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12349 your @file{.emacs} file:
12352 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12353 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12355 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12358 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12359 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12360 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12361 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12362 extract some information from it before removing it.
12367 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12368 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12369 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12370 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12371 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12372 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12375 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12376 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12378 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12379 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12380 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12381 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12382 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12384 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12385 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12386 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12387 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12388 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12389 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12390 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12391 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12394 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12395 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12396 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12397 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12402 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12403 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12404 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12405 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12406 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12407 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12408 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12409 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12410 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12411 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12412 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12413 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12414 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12419 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12420 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12421 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12422 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12423 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12424 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12425 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12426 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12427 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12428 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12429 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12430 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12431 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12432 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12434 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12435 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12440 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12441 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12442 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12443 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12444 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12445 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12446 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12447 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12448 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12449 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12450 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12451 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12452 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12453 provided by the active file and overviews.
12455 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12456 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12457 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12458 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12459 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12462 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12463 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12468 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12469 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12470 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12471 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12472 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12473 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12474 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12478 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12479 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12480 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12481 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12482 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12483 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12484 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12485 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12486 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12488 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12489 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12490 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12491 friendly mail backend all over.
12496 @node Browsing the Web
12497 @section Browsing the Web
12499 @cindex browsing the web
12503 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12504 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12505 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12506 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12507 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12508 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12509 even know what a news group is.
12511 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12512 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12513 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12514 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12515 you mad in the end.
12517 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12520 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12521 interfaces to these sources.
12524 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12525 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12526 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12527 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12528 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12531 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12533 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12534 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12535 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12536 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12537 though, you should be ok.
12539 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12540 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12541 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12542 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12543 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12547 @subsection Web Searches
12551 @cindex InReference
12552 @cindex Usenet searches
12553 @cindex searching the Usenet
12555 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12556 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12557 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12558 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12559 searches without having to use a browser.
12561 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12562 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12563 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12564 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12565 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12567 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12568 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12569 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12570 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12571 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12572 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12573 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12574 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12575 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12576 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12579 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12580 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12581 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12582 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12583 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12584 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12586 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12587 to use @code{nnweb}.
12589 Virtual server variables:
12594 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12595 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12599 @vindex nnweb-search
12600 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12602 @item nnweb-max-hits
12603 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12604 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12607 @item nnweb-type-definition
12608 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12609 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12610 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12615 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12619 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12622 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12625 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12629 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12636 @subsection Slashdot
12640 Slashdot (@file{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12641 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12642 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12644 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12645 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12648 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12649 '((nnslashdot "")))
12652 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12653 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12654 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12655 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12656 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12659 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12660 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12662 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12663 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12664 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12665 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12666 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12667 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12670 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12673 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12674 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12675 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12676 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12677 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12678 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12679 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12681 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12682 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12683 The login name to use when posting.
12685 @item nnslashdot-password
12686 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12687 The password to use when posting.
12689 @item nnslashdot-directory
12690 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12691 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12692 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12694 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12695 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12696 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12697 news articles and comments. The default is
12698 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12700 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12701 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12702 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12704 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12706 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12707 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12708 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12710 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
12712 @item nnslashdot-threshold
12713 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
12714 The score threshold. The default is -1.
12716 @item nnslashdot-group-number
12717 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
12718 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
12719 updated. The default is 0.
12726 @subsection Ultimate
12728 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
12730 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@file{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
12731 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
12732 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
12733 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
12735 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
12736 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
12737 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
12738 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
12739 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
12740 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
12741 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
12743 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
12746 @item nnultimate-directory
12747 @vindex nnultimate-directory
12748 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
12749 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
12754 @subsection Web Archive
12756 @cindex Web Archive
12758 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
12759 @file{http://www.egroups.com/} and
12760 @file{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
12761 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
12764 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
12765 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
12766 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
12767 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
12768 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
12769 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
12770 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
12772 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
12775 @item nnwarchive-directory
12776 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
12777 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
12778 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
12780 @item nnwarchive-login
12781 @vindex nnwarchive-login
12782 The account name on the web server.
12784 @item nnwarchive-passwd
12785 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
12786 The password for your account on the web server.
12790 @node Customizing w3
12791 @subsection Customizing w3
12797 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
12798 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
12799 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
12801 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
12802 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
12803 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
12806 (eval-after-load "w3"
12808 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
12809 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
12810 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
12811 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
12813 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
12816 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
12817 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
12821 @node Other Sources
12822 @section Other Sources
12824 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
12825 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
12829 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
12830 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
12831 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
12832 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
12833 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
12834 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
12838 @node Directory Groups
12839 @subsection Directory Groups
12841 @cindex directory groups
12843 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
12844 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
12847 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
12848 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
12849 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
12850 backend to read directories. Big deal.
12852 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
12853 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
12854 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
12855 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
12856 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
12858 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
12860 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
12861 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
12862 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
12863 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
12866 @node Anything Groups
12867 @subsection Anything Groups
12870 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
12871 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
12872 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
12875 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
12876 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
12877 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
12878 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
12879 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
12880 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
12881 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
12882 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
12883 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
12884 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
12887 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
12888 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
12889 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
12890 in the article buffer, just as usual.
12892 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
12893 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
12894 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
12895 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
12897 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
12898 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
12899 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
12900 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
12901 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
12902 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
12903 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
12904 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
12909 @item nneething-map-file-directory
12910 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
12911 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
12912 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
12914 @item nneething-exclude-files
12915 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
12916 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
12917 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
12919 @item nneething-include-files
12920 @vindex nneething-include-files
12921 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
12922 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
12924 @item nneething-map-file
12925 @vindex nneething-map-file
12926 Name of the map files.
12930 @node Document Groups
12931 @subsection Document Groups
12933 @cindex documentation group
12936 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
12937 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
12944 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
12949 The standard Unix mbox file.
12951 @cindex MMDF mail box
12953 The MMDF mail box format.
12956 Several news articles appended into a file.
12959 @cindex rnews batch files
12960 The rnews batch transport format.
12961 @cindex forwarded messages
12964 Forwarded articles.
12967 Netscape mail boxes.
12970 MIME multipart messages.
12972 @item standard-digest
12973 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
12976 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
12979 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
12980 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
12981 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
12984 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
12985 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
12986 group. And that's it.
12988 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
12989 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
12990 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
12991 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
12992 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
12993 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
12994 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
12995 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
12996 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
12997 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
12999 Virtual server variables:
13002 @item nndoc-article-type
13003 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13004 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13005 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13006 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13007 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13009 @item nndoc-post-type
13010 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13011 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13012 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13017 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13021 @node Document Server Internals
13022 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13024 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13025 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13026 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13027 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13029 First, here's an example document type definition:
13033 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13034 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13037 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13038 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13039 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13040 types can be defined with very few settings:
13043 @item first-article
13044 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13045 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13048 @item article-begin
13049 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13050 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13052 @item head-begin-function
13053 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13056 @item nndoc-head-begin
13057 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13060 @item nndoc-head-end
13061 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13062 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13064 @item body-begin-function
13065 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13069 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13072 @item body-end-function
13073 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13077 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13080 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13081 regexp will be totally ignored.
13085 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13086 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13087 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13088 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13089 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13092 @item prepare-body-function
13093 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13094 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13095 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13097 @item article-transform-function
13098 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13099 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13100 body of the article.
13102 @item generate-head-function
13103 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13104 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13105 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13106 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13110 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13115 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13116 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13117 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13118 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13119 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13120 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13121 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13122 (subtype digest guess))
13125 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13126 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13127 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13128 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13129 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13131 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13132 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13133 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13134 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13135 traversed sequentially, and @code{nndoc-TYPE-type-p} is called for a given type @code{TYPE}. So @code{nndoc-mmdf-type-p} is called to see whether a document
13136 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13137 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13138 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13139 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13140 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13148 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13149 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13150 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13152 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13153 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13154 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13157 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13158 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13159 that interested in doing things properly.
13161 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13162 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13165 First some terminology:
13170 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13171 get news and/or mail from.
13174 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13175 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13178 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13182 @item message packets
13183 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13184 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13185 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13187 @item response packets
13188 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13189 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13190 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13200 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13201 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13202 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13203 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13206 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13209 You put the packet in your home directory.
13212 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13213 the native or secondary server.
13216 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13217 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13220 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13224 You transfer this packet to the server.
13227 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13230 You then repeat until you die.
13234 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13235 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13238 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13239 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13240 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13244 @node SOUP Commands
13245 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13247 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13251 @kindex G s b (Group)
13252 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13253 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13254 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13255 process/prefix convention.
13258 @kindex G s w (Group)
13259 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13260 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13263 @kindex G s s (Group)
13264 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13265 Send all replies from the replies packet
13266 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13269 @kindex G s p (Group)
13270 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13271 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13274 @kindex G s r (Group)
13275 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13276 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13279 @kindex O s (Summary)
13280 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13281 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13282 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13283 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13288 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13293 @item gnus-soup-directory
13294 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13295 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13296 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13298 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13299 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13300 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13301 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13303 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13304 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13305 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13306 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13308 @item gnus-soup-packer
13309 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13310 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13311 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13313 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13314 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13315 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13316 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13318 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13319 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13320 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13322 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13323 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13324 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13325 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13331 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13334 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13335 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13336 you can read them at leisure.
13338 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13342 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13343 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13344 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13345 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13347 @item nnsoup-directory
13348 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13349 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13350 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13352 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13353 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13354 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13355 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13357 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13358 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13359 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13360 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13361 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13363 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13364 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13365 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13366 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13368 @item nnsoup-active-file
13369 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13370 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13371 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13372 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13373 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13375 @item nnsoup-packer
13376 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13377 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13378 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13380 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13381 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13382 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13383 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13385 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13386 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13387 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13390 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13391 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13392 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13395 @item nnsoup-always-save
13396 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13397 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13403 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13405 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13406 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13407 more for that to happen.
13409 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13410 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13411 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13414 In specific, this is what it does:
13417 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13418 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13421 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13422 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13423 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13426 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13427 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13428 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13431 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13432 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13433 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13435 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13441 @item nngateway-address
13442 @vindex nngateway-address
13443 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13445 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13446 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13447 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13448 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13449 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13450 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13451 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13454 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13455 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13456 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13459 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13462 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13465 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13468 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13470 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13473 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13474 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13475 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13477 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13479 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13480 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13481 @code{nngateway-address}.
13486 (setq gnus-post-method
13487 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13488 (nngateway-header-transformation
13489 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13497 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13500 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13506 @subsection @sc{imap}
13510 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13511 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13512 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13513 network address of the server.
13515 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13520 @item nnimap-address
13521 @vindex nnimap-address
13523 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13524 server name if not specified.
13526 @item nnimap-server-port
13527 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13528 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13530 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13531 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13532 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13533 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13534 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13535 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13536 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13538 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13539 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13540 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13546 ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*" ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))
13549 @item nnimap-stream
13550 @vindex nnimap-stream
13551 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13552 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13553 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13554 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13558 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13559 @samp{imtest} program.
13561 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13563 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13564 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13567 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13568 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13570 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13573 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13574 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x.
13576 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13577 @file{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13578 and nnimap support it too - altough the most recent versions of SSLeay,
13579 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it useless. Earlier
13580 versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to work.
13582 @item nnimap-authenticator
13583 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13585 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13586 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13590 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13591 external program @code{imtest}.
13593 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13596 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13597 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13599 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13601 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13603 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13606 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13608 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13609 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13610 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13611 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13612 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13613 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13616 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13617 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13618 running in circles yet?
13620 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13621 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13624 The possible options are:
13629 The default behaviour, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13632 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13633 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13634 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13635 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13637 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13644 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
13645 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
13646 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
13651 @node Splitting in IMAP
13652 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
13653 @cindex splitting imap mail
13655 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
13656 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
13657 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
13658 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
13659 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
13663 Here are the variables of interest:
13667 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
13668 @cindex splitting, crosspost
13670 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
13672 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
13673 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
13675 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
13677 @item nnimap-split-inbox
13678 @cindex splitting, inbox
13680 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
13682 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
13683 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
13687 (setq nnimap-split-inbox '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
13690 No nnmail equivalent.
13692 @item nnimap-split-rule
13693 @cindex Splitting, rules
13694 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
13696 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
13699 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
13700 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
13701 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
13702 Neither did I, we need examples.
13705 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13706 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
13707 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
13708 ("INBOX.private" "")))
13711 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
13712 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
13713 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
13715 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
13716 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
13720 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
13723 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
13724 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
13725 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
13726 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
13728 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
13729 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
13730 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
13731 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
13732 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
13733 them every time you fetch new mail.)
13735 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
13736 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
13737 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
13739 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
13740 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
13741 thinks the article should be splitted to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13743 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
13745 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
13746 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
13747 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
13750 (setq nnimap-split-rule
13751 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
13752 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
13753 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
13754 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
13755 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
13758 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
13759 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
13760 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
13761 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
13762 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
13763 group/function elements.
13765 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
13767 @item nnimap-split-predicate
13769 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
13771 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
13772 splitted, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
13774 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
13775 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
13776 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
13779 @item nnimap-split-fancy
13780 @cindex splitting, fancy
13781 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
13782 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
13784 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13785 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
13786 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
13788 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
13789 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
13790 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
13791 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
13796 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
13797 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
13800 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
13804 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
13805 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13806 @cindex editing imap acls
13807 @cindex Access Control Lists
13808 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
13810 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
13812 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
13813 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
13814 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
13817 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
13818 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
13819 editing window with detailed instructions.
13821 Some possible uses:
13825 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
13826 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
13827 follow the list without subscribing to it.
13829 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
13830 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
13831 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
13835 @node Expunging mailboxes
13836 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
13840 @cindex Manual expunging
13842 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
13844 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
13845 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
13846 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
13848 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
13853 @node Combined Groups
13854 @section Combined Groups
13856 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
13860 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
13861 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
13865 @node Virtual Groups
13866 @subsection Virtual Groups
13868 @cindex virtual groups
13869 @cindex merging groups
13871 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
13874 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
13875 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
13876 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
13878 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
13879 regexp to match component groups.
13881 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
13882 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
13883 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
13884 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
13885 the virtual group.)
13887 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
13888 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
13891 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
13894 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
13895 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
13897 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
13898 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
13899 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
13900 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
13903 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
13906 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
13907 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
13908 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
13910 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
13911 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
13912 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
13913 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
13914 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
13916 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
13917 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
13918 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
13920 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
13921 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
13922 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
13923 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
13924 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
13925 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
13926 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
13927 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
13928 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
13929 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
13930 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
13932 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
13933 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
13934 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
13935 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
13936 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
13937 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
13938 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
13940 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
13941 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
13945 @node Kibozed Groups
13946 @subsection Kibozed Groups
13950 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
13951 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
13952 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
13953 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
13955 @kindex G k (Group)
13956 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
13959 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
13960 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
13961 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
13962 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
13964 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
13965 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
13966 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
13968 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
13969 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
13970 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
13971 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
13972 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
13973 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
13974 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
13975 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
13977 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
13978 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
13979 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
13980 Stranger things have happened.
13982 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
13983 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
13985 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
13986 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
13987 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
13988 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
13989 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
13990 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
13992 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
13993 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
13996 @node Gnus Unplugged
13997 @section Gnus Unplugged
14002 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14004 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14005 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14006 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14007 read news. Believe it or not.
14009 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14010 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14011 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14012 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14013 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14015 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14016 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14017 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14018 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14019 reading news on a machine.
14021 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14025 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14026 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14030 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14031 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14038 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14040 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14043 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14044 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14045 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14046 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14047 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14048 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14049 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14050 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14051 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14056 @subsection Agent Basics
14058 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14060 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14061 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14062 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14063 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14065 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14066 connected to the net continuously.
14068 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14069 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14071 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14076 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14077 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14078 already fetched while in this mode.
14081 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14082 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14083 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
14086 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14087 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
14088 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14089 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14092 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14093 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14094 then you read the news offline.
14097 And then you go to step 2.
14100 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14106 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14107 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14108 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14109 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14110 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14111 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14114 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14121 @node Agent Categories
14122 @subsection Agent Categories
14124 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14125 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14126 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14127 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14128 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14129 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14130 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14132 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14133 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14134 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14135 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14136 managing categories.
14139 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14140 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14141 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14145 @node Category Syntax
14146 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14148 A category consists of two things.
14152 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14153 are eligible for downloading; and
14156 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14157 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14158 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14161 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14162 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14163 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14164 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14166 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14167 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14168 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
14170 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14171 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14172 operators sprinkled in between.
14174 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14176 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14177 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14183 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14184 short (for some value of ``short'').
14186 Here's a more complex predicate:
14195 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14196 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14199 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14200 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14201 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14203 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14204 you want to do, you can write your own.
14208 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14209 lines; default 100.
14212 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14213 lines; default 200.
14216 True iff the article has a download score less than
14217 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14220 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14221 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14224 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14225 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14226 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14235 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14236 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14237 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14240 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14241 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14242 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14243 something along the lines of the following:
14246 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14247 "Say whether an article is old."
14248 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14249 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14252 with the predicate then defined as:
14255 (not my-article-old-p)
14258 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14259 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14260 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14261 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14264 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
14265 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14266 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14269 and simply specify your predicate as:
14275 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14276 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14277 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14278 just don't give a damm.
14280 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14281 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14282 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14283 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14284 parameters like so:
14287 (agent-predicate . short)
14290 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14291 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14292 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14294 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14297 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14300 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14301 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14302 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14305 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14306 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14307 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14308 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14309 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14310 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14312 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14313 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14314 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14315 if it's to be specific to that group.
14317 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14324 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14325 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14331 Category specification
14335 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14341 Group Parameter specification
14344 (agent-score ("from"
14345 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14350 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14356 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14363 Category specification
14366 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14372 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14376 Group Parameter specification
14379 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14382 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14387 Use @code{normal} score files
14389 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14390 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14391 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14392 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14394 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14395 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14396 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14397 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14401 Category Specification
14408 Group Parameter specification
14411 (agent-score . file)
14416 @node The Category Buffer
14417 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14419 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14420 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14421 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14423 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14427 @kindex q (Category)
14428 @findex gnus-category-exit
14429 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14432 @kindex k (Category)
14433 @findex gnus-category-kill
14434 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14437 @kindex c (Category)
14438 @findex gnus-category-copy
14439 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14442 @kindex a (Category)
14443 @findex gnus-category-add
14444 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14447 @kindex p (Category)
14448 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14449 Edit the predicate of the current category
14450 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14453 @kindex g (Category)
14454 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14455 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14456 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14459 @kindex s (Category)
14460 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14461 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14462 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14465 @kindex l (Category)
14466 @findex gnus-category-list
14467 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14471 @node Category Variables
14472 @subsubsection Category Variables
14475 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14476 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14477 Hook run in category buffers.
14479 @item gnus-category-line-format
14480 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14481 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14482 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14486 The name of the category.
14489 The number of groups in the category.
14492 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14493 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14494 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14496 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14497 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14498 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14500 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14501 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14502 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14504 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14505 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14506 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14509 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14510 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14511 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14517 @node Agent Commands
14518 @subsection Agent Commands
14520 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14521 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14522 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14526 * Group Agent Commands::
14527 * Summary Agent Commands::
14528 * Server Agent Commands::
14531 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14532 following incantation:
14534 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14536 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14541 @node Group Agent Commands
14542 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14546 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14547 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14548 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14549 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14552 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14553 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14554 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14557 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14558 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14559 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14560 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14563 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14564 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14565 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14566 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14569 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14570 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14571 Add the current group to an Agent category
14572 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14573 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14576 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14577 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14578 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14579 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14580 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14585 @node Summary Agent Commands
14586 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14590 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14591 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14592 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14595 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14596 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14597 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14598 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14601 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14602 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14603 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14606 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14607 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14608 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14613 @node Server Agent Commands
14614 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14618 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14619 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
14620 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
14621 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
14624 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
14625 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
14626 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
14627 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
14633 @subsection Agent Expiry
14635 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
14636 @findex gnus-agent-expire
14637 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
14638 @cindex Agent expiry
14639 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
14642 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
14643 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
14644 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
14645 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
14646 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
14647 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
14649 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
14650 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
14651 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
14652 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
14653 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
14656 @node Outgoing Messages
14657 @subsection Outgoing Messages
14659 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
14660 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
14661 after posting, and edit them at will.
14663 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
14664 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
14665 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
14666 messages in the draft group.
14670 @node Agent Variables
14671 @subsection Agent Variables
14674 @item gnus-agent-directory
14675 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
14676 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
14677 @file{~/News/agent/}.
14679 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
14680 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
14681 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
14682 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
14683 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
14686 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14687 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
14688 Hook run when connecting to the network.
14690 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14691 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
14692 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
14697 @node Example Setup
14698 @subsection Example Setup
14700 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
14701 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
14702 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
14705 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
14706 ;;; from your ISP's server.
14707 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
14709 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
14710 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
14711 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
14713 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
14714 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
14716 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
14720 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
14721 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
14724 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
14725 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
14726 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
14727 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
14728 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
14731 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
14732 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
14733 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
14734 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
14735 back all the killed groups.)
14737 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
14738 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
14739 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
14742 @node Batching Agents
14743 @subsection Batching Agents
14745 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
14746 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
14747 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
14751 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
14755 @node Agent Caveats
14756 @subsection Agent Caveats
14758 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
14759 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
14763 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
14768 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
14769 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
14775 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
14776 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
14783 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
14784 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
14785 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
14788 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
14789 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
14790 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
14791 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
14792 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
14794 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
14795 before generating the summary buffer.
14797 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
14798 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
14799 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
14801 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
14802 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
14803 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
14804 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
14807 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
14808 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
14809 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
14810 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
14811 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
14812 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
14813 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
14814 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
14815 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
14816 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
14817 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
14818 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
14819 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
14820 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
14821 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
14822 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
14826 @node Summary Score Commands
14827 @section Summary Score Commands
14828 @cindex score commands
14830 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
14831 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
14832 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
14833 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
14834 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
14836 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
14837 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
14838 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
14839 score file the current one.
14841 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
14846 @kindex V s (Summary)
14847 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
14848 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
14851 @kindex V S (Summary)
14852 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
14853 Display the score of the current article
14854 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
14857 @kindex V t (Summary)
14858 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
14859 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
14860 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
14863 @kindex V R (Summary)
14864 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
14865 Run the current summary through the scoring process
14866 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
14867 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
14868 effect you're having.
14871 @kindex V c (Summary)
14872 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
14873 Make a different score file the current
14874 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
14877 @kindex V e (Summary)
14878 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
14879 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
14880 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
14884 @kindex V f (Summary)
14885 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
14886 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
14887 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
14890 @kindex V F (Summary)
14891 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
14892 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
14893 after editing score files.
14896 @kindex V C (Summary)
14897 @findex gnus-score-customize
14898 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
14899 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
14903 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
14908 @kindex V m (Summary)
14909 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
14910 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
14911 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
14914 @kindex V x (Summary)
14915 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
14916 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
14917 expunge all articles below this score
14918 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
14921 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
14922 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
14925 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
14926 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
14930 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
14931 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
14933 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
14934 keys are available:
14938 Score on the author name.
14941 Score on the subject line.
14944 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
14947 Score on the @code{References} line.
14953 Score on the number of lines.
14956 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
14959 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
14960 the followups to this author.
14974 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
14975 what headers you are scoring on.
14987 Substring matching.
14990 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15019 Greater than number.
15024 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15025 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15026 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15030 Temporary score entry.
15033 Permanent score entry.
15036 Immediately scoring.
15041 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15042 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15043 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15044 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15046 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15047 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15048 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15049 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15050 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15052 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15053 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15054 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15055 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15056 current score file.
15058 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15059 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15060 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15063 @node Group Score Commands
15064 @section Group Score Commands
15065 @cindex group score commands
15067 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15072 @kindex W f (Group)
15073 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15074 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15075 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15076 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15080 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15082 @findex gnus-batch-score
15083 @cindex batch scoring
15085 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15089 @node Score Variables
15090 @section Score Variables
15091 @cindex score variables
15095 @item gnus-use-scoring
15096 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15097 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15098 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15100 @item gnus-kill-killed
15101 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15102 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15103 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15104 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15105 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15106 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15107 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15109 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15110 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15111 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15112 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15113 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15115 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15116 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15117 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15118 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15120 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15121 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15122 @cindex score cache
15123 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15124 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15125 bloated, so this regexp can be used to weed out score files unlikely to be needed again. It would be a bad idea to deny caching of
15126 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15127 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15128 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15131 @item gnus-save-score
15132 @vindex gnus-save-score
15133 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15134 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15135 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15137 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15138 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15139 across group visits.
15141 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15142 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15143 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15144 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15145 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15146 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15147 manually entered data.
15149 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15150 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15151 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15153 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15154 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15155 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15156 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15157 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15158 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15160 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15161 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15162 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15163 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15165 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15166 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15167 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15168 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15170 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15171 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15172 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15173 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15175 Predefined functions available are:
15178 @item gnus-score-find-single
15179 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15180 Only apply the group's own score file.
15182 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15183 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15184 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15185 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15186 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15187 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15188 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15189 then a regexp match is done.
15191 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15192 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15194 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15195 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15196 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15197 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15199 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15200 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15201 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15202 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15203 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
15206 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15207 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
15208 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
15209 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
15210 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
15211 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
15214 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15215 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15216 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15217 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15218 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15220 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15221 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15222 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15223 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15224 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15225 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15226 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15229 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15230 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15231 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15233 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15234 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15235 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15236 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15237 threading---according to the current value of
15238 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15239 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15240 simplified in this manner.
15245 @node Score File Format
15246 @section Score File Format
15247 @cindex score file format
15249 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15250 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15251 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15253 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15257 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15259 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15261 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15263 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15268 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15272 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15273 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15274 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15275 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15279 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15280 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15282 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15283 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15284 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15286 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15291 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15292 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15293 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15294 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15295 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15296 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15297 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15298 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15299 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15300 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15301 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15302 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15303 to articles that matches these score entries.
15305 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15306 score entry has one to four elements.
15310 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15311 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15315 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15316 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15317 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15318 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15319 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15320 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15323 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15324 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15325 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15326 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15327 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15330 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15331 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15332 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15333 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15336 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15337 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15338 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15339 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15340 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15341 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15342 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15343 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15344 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15345 instead, if you feel like.
15348 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15349 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15351 These predicates are true if
15354 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15357 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15358 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15365 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15366 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15367 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15368 it's not. I think.)
15370 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15371 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15372 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15373 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15376 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15377 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15378 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15379 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15380 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15381 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15382 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15386 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15387 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15388 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15389 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15390 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15391 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15392 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15393 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15396 @item Head, Body, All
15397 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15401 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15402 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15403 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15404 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15405 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15406 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15407 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15411 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15412 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15413 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15414 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15415 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15416 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15417 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15418 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15419 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15420 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15421 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15425 @cindex Score File Atoms
15427 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15428 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15431 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15432 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15434 @item mark-and-expunge
15435 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15436 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15439 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15440 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15441 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15442 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15443 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15446 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15447 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15450 @item exclude-files
15451 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15452 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15456 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15457 ignored when handling global score files.
15460 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15461 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15462 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15463 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15466 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15467 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15468 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15469 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15471 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15475 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15478 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15479 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15480 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15481 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15482 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15484 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15485 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15486 ordinary scoring rules.
15489 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15490 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15491 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15492 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15493 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15494 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15495 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15496 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15497 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15498 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15499 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15503 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15504 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15505 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15506 file for a number of groups.
15509 @cindex local variables
15510 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15511 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15512 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15513 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15514 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15518 @node Score File Editing
15519 @section Score File Editing
15521 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15522 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15523 with a mode for that.
15525 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15526 additional commands:
15531 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15532 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15533 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15534 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15537 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15538 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15539 Insert the current date in numerical format
15540 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15541 you were wondering.
15544 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15545 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15546 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15547 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15548 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15553 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15555 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15556 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15558 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
15559 e} to begin editing score files.
15562 @node Adaptive Scoring
15563 @section Adaptive Scoring
15564 @cindex adaptive scoring
15566 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
15567 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
15568 stupidity, to be precise.
15570 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
15571 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
15572 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
15573 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
15574 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15575 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
15576 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
15577 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
15578 variable to @code{(word line)}.
15580 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15581 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
15582 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
15583 might look something like this:
15586 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
15587 '((gnus-unread-mark)
15588 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
15589 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
15590 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
15591 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
15592 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
15593 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
15594 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
15595 (gnus-ancient-mark)
15596 (gnus-low-score-mark)
15597 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
15600 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
15601 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
15602 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
15603 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
15604 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
15605 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
15608 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
15609 will be applied to each article.
15611 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
15612 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
15613 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
15614 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
15616 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
15617 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
15618 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
15619 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
15621 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
15622 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
15623 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
15624 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
15626 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
15627 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
15628 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
15629 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
15630 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
15631 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
15633 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
15634 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
15635 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
15636 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
15637 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
15638 aspirins afterwards.)
15640 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
15641 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
15642 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
15644 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
15645 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
15646 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
15648 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
15649 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
15650 let you use different rules in different groups.
15652 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
15653 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
15654 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
15657 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
15658 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
15659 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
15660 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
15661 the length of the match is less than
15662 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
15663 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
15666 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15667 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
15668 headers. If you adapt on words, the
15669 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
15670 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
15673 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
15674 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
15675 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
15676 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
15677 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
15680 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
15681 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
15682 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
15683 score with 30 points.
15685 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
15686 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
15687 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
15688 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
15689 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
15691 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
15692 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
15693 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
15694 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
15696 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
15697 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
15698 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
15699 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
15701 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
15702 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
15703 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
15704 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
15705 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
15707 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
15708 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
15709 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
15711 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
15712 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
15713 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
15714 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
15717 @node Home Score File
15718 @section Home Score File
15720 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
15721 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
15722 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
15723 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
15725 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
15726 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
15727 could perhaps use the same home score file.
15729 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
15730 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
15735 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
15739 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
15740 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
15744 A list. The elements in this list can be:
15748 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
15749 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
15752 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
15753 the home score file.
15756 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
15759 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
15764 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
15767 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15768 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
15771 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
15772 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
15774 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
15776 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15777 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
15780 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
15781 Other functions include
15784 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
15785 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
15786 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
15787 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
15791 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
15792 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
15793 their own home score files:
15796 (setq gnus-home-score-file
15797 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
15798 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
15799 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
15800 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
15803 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
15804 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
15805 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
15806 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
15807 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
15809 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
15810 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
15811 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
15812 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
15813 precedence over this variable.
15816 @node Followups To Yourself
15817 @section Followups To Yourself
15819 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
15820 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
15821 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
15822 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
15823 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
15824 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
15828 @item gnus-score-followup-article
15829 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
15830 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
15833 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
15834 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
15835 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
15839 @vindex message-sent-hook
15840 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
15841 @code{message-sent-hook}.
15843 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
15844 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
15848 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15849 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
15852 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
15853 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
15858 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
15862 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
15863 is system-dependent.
15867 @section Scoring Tips
15868 @cindex scoring tips
15874 @cindex scoring crossposts
15875 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
15876 the @code{Xref} header.
15878 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
15881 @item Multiple crossposts
15882 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
15883 more than, say, 3 groups:
15885 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
15888 @item Matching on the body
15889 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
15890 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
15891 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
15892 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
15893 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
15894 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
15895 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
15898 @item Marking as read
15899 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
15900 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
15901 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
15905 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
15907 @item Negated character classes
15908 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
15909 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
15910 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
15914 @node Reverse Scoring
15915 @section Reverse Scoring
15916 @cindex reverse scoring
15918 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
15919 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
15920 like this in your score file:
15924 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
15929 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
15930 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
15933 @node Global Score Files
15934 @section Global Score Files
15935 @cindex global score files
15937 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
15938 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
15939 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
15941 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
15942 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
15943 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
15945 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
15946 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
15947 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
15948 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
15949 files are applicable to which group.
15951 Say you want to use the score file
15952 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
15953 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
15956 (setq gnus-global-score-files
15957 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
15958 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
15961 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
15962 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
15963 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
15964 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
15965 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
15967 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
15968 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
15970 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
15971 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
15972 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
15973 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
15974 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
15975 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
15977 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
15983 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
15985 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
15987 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
15989 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
15990 lowered out of existence.
15992 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
15993 articles completely.
15996 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
15997 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
15998 old articles for a long time.
16001 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16002 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16003 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16004 holding our breath yet?
16008 @section Kill Files
16011 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16012 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16013 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16015 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16016 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16017 files into score files.
16019 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16020 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16021 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16022 that isn't a very good idea.
16024 Normal kill files look like this:
16027 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16028 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16032 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16033 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16035 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16036 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16039 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16044 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16045 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16046 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16049 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16050 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16051 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16054 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16059 @kindex M-k (Group)
16060 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16061 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16064 @kindex M-K (Group)
16065 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16066 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16069 Kill file variables:
16072 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16073 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16074 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16075 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16076 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16077 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16078 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16080 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16081 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16082 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16083 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16086 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16087 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16088 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16089 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16090 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16091 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16092 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16093 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16094 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16096 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16097 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16098 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16103 @node Converting Kill Files
16104 @section Converting Kill Files
16106 @cindex converting kill files
16108 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16109 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16110 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16113 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16114 You can fetch it from
16115 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
16117 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16118 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16119 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16127 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16128 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16129 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16131 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16132 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16133 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16134 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16135 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16136 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16137 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16138 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16142 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16143 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16144 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16145 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16149 @node Using GroupLens
16150 @subsection Using GroupLens
16152 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16154 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16155 better bit in town at the moment.
16157 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16161 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16162 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16163 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16164 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16166 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16167 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16168 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16169 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16171 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16172 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16173 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16177 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16178 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16179 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16180 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16181 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16182 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16185 @node Rating Articles
16186 @subsection Rating Articles
16188 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16189 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16190 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16191 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16194 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16199 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16200 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16201 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16204 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16205 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16206 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16207 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16208 threads in rec.humor.
16212 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16213 the score of the article you're reading.
16218 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16219 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16220 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16223 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16224 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16225 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16229 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16230 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16233 @node Displaying Predictions
16234 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16236 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16237 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16238 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16239 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16240 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16242 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16243 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16244 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16245 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16246 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16247 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16248 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16249 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16250 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16251 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16252 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16253 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16254 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16256 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16257 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16258 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16259 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16261 The following are valid values for that variable.
16264 @item prediction-spot
16265 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16268 @item confidence-interval
16269 A numeric confidence interval.
16271 @item prediction-bar
16272 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16274 @item confidence-bar
16275 Numerical confidence.
16277 @item confidence-spot
16278 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16280 @item prediction-num
16281 Plain-old numeric value.
16283 @item confidence-plus-minus
16284 Prediction +/- confidence.
16289 @node GroupLens Variables
16290 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16294 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16295 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16296 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16297 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16300 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16301 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16304 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16305 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16307 @item grouplens-score-offset
16308 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16309 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16312 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16313 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16314 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16319 @node Advanced Scoring
16320 @section Advanced Scoring
16322 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16323 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16324 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16325 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16326 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16328 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16332 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16333 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16334 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16338 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16339 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16341 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16342 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16343 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16344 non-@code{nil} value.
16346 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16347 operator, and various match operators.
16354 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16355 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16356 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16361 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16362 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16363 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16368 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16369 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16373 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16374 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16375 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16376 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16377 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16378 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16379 the ancestry you want to go.
16381 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16382 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16383 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16384 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16385 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16388 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16389 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16391 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16392 when he's talking about Gnus:
16396 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16397 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16403 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16407 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16414 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16415 really don't want to read what he's written:
16419 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16420 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16424 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16425 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16426 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16433 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16434 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16435 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16436 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16440 The possibilities are endless.
16443 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16444 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16446 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16447 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16448 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16449 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16450 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16451 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16452 @samp{subject}) first.
16454 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16455 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16466 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16467 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16473 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16480 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16481 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16486 @section Score Decays
16487 @cindex score decays
16490 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16491 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16492 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16493 use them in any sensible way.
16495 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16496 @findex gnus-decay-score
16497 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16498 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16499 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16500 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16501 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16502 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16503 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16504 definition of that function:
16507 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16509 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16510 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16513 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16515 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16517 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16520 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16521 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16522 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16523 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16527 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16530 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16533 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16537 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16538 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16539 the new score, which should be an integer.
16541 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16542 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16549 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16550 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16551 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16552 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16553 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16554 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
16555 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
16556 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
16557 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
16558 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
16559 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
16560 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
16561 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
16562 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
16563 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
16564 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
16565 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
16566 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
16570 @node Process/Prefix
16571 @section Process/Prefix
16572 @cindex process/prefix convention
16574 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
16575 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
16577 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
16578 command to be performed on.
16582 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
16583 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
16584 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
16585 with the current one.
16587 @vindex transient-mark-mode
16588 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
16589 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
16591 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
16592 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
16595 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
16596 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
16598 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
16601 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
16602 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
16603 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
16604 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16606 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
16607 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
16608 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
16609 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
16610 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
16611 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
16612 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
16613 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
16615 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
16616 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
16617 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
16618 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
16619 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
16623 @section Interactive
16624 @cindex interaction
16628 @item gnus-novice-user
16629 @vindex gnus-novice-user
16630 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
16631 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
16632 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
16633 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
16636 @item gnus-expert-user
16637 @vindex gnus-expert-user
16638 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
16639 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
16640 matter how strange.
16642 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
16643 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
16644 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
16645 is @code{t} by default.
16647 @item gnus-interactive-exit
16648 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
16649 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
16654 @node Symbolic Prefixes
16655 @section Symbolic Prefixes
16656 @cindex symbolic prefixes
16658 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
16659 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
16660 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
16661 rule of 900 to the current article.
16663 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
16664 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
16665 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
16666 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
16667 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
16668 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
16669 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
16671 @kindex M-i (Summary)
16672 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
16673 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
16674 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
16675 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
16676 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
16677 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
16678 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
16679 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
16681 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
16682 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
16683 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
16685 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
16689 @node Formatting Variables
16690 @section Formatting Variables
16691 @cindex formatting variables
16693 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
16694 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
16695 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
16696 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
16697 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
16700 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
16701 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
16702 lots of percentages everywhere.
16705 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
16706 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
16707 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
16708 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
16709 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
16712 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
16713 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
16714 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
16715 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
16716 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
16717 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
16718 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
16719 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
16721 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
16722 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
16724 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
16725 @findex gnus-update-format
16726 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
16727 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
16728 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
16729 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
16733 @node Formatting Basics
16734 @subsection Formatting Basics
16736 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
16737 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
16738 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
16740 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
16741 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
16742 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
16743 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
16744 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
16747 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
16748 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
16749 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
16750 less than 4 characters wide.
16753 @node Mode Line Formatting
16754 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
16756 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
16757 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
16758 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
16759 with the following two differences:
16764 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
16767 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
16768 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
16769 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
16770 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
16771 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
16772 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
16773 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
16778 @node Advanced Formatting
16779 @subsection Advanced Formatting
16781 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
16782 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
16783 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
16784 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
16786 These are the valid modifiers:
16791 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
16795 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
16800 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
16803 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
16808 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
16811 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
16814 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
16817 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
16821 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
16822 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
16823 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
16824 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
16825 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
16826 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
16827 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
16829 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
16830 last operation, padding.
16832 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
16833 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
16834 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
16835 @xref{Compilation}.
16838 @node User-Defined Specs
16839 @subsection User-Defined Specs
16841 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
16842 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
16843 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
16844 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
16845 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
16846 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
16847 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
16848 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
16849 should protect against that.
16851 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
16852 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
16853 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
16854 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
16858 @node Formatting Fonts
16859 @subsection Formatting Fonts
16861 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
16862 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
16863 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
16864 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
16867 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
16868 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
16869 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
16870 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
16871 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
16872 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
16874 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
16875 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
16876 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
16877 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
16878 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
16879 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
16880 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
16881 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
16883 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
16886 ;; Create three face types.
16887 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
16888 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
16890 ;; We want the article count to be in
16891 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
16892 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
16893 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
16895 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
16896 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
16898 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
16899 (setq gnus-group-line-format
16900 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
16903 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
16904 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
16906 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
16907 mode-line variables.
16910 @node Windows Configuration
16911 @section Windows Configuration
16912 @cindex windows configuration
16914 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
16916 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
16917 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
16918 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
16919 @code{t} by default.
16921 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
16922 glitches. Use at your own peril.
16924 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
16925 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
16926 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
16929 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
16930 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
16931 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16935 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
16936 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
16937 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
16938 possible names is listed below.
16940 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
16941 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
16944 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
16948 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
16949 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
16950 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
16951 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
16952 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
16953 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
16954 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
16955 size spec per split.
16957 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
16958 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
16959 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
16960 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
16961 present) gets focus.
16963 Here's a more complicated example:
16966 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
16967 (summary 0.25 point)
16968 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
16972 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
16973 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
16974 occupy, not a percentage.
16976 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
16977 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
16978 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
16979 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
16980 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
16983 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
16986 (article (horizontal 1.0
16991 (summary 0.25 point)
16996 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
16997 @code{horizontal} thingie?
16999 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17000 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17001 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17002 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17003 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17005 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17006 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17007 lines from the splits.
17009 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17013 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17014 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17015 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17016 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17017 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17018 size = number | frame-params
17019 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17022 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17023 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17024 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17025 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17027 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17028 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17029 @cindex window height
17030 @cindex window width
17031 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17032 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17033 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17034 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17035 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17036 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17038 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17039 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17040 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17041 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17043 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17044 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17045 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17046 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17047 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17048 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17049 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17050 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17051 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17052 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17053 configuration list.
17056 (gnus-configure-frame
17060 (article 0.3 point))
17068 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17069 @code{frame} split:
17072 (gnus-configure-frame
17075 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17077 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17078 (user-position . t)
17079 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17084 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17085 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17086 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17087 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17088 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17089 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17090 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17091 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17093 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17094 be found in its default value.
17096 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17097 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17098 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17102 (message (horizontal 1.0
17103 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17105 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17110 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17111 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17112 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17115 (message (frame 1.0
17116 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17117 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17118 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17119 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17120 (name . "Message"))
17121 (message 1.0 point))))
17124 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17125 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17126 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17127 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17128 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17131 (gnus-add-configuration
17132 '(article (vertical 1.0
17134 (summary .25 point)
17138 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17139 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17140 Gnus has been loaded.
17142 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17143 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17144 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17145 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17146 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17148 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17149 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17150 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17154 @node Faces and Fonts
17155 @section Faces and Fonts
17160 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17161 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17162 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17167 @section Compilation
17168 @cindex compilation
17169 @cindex byte-compilation
17171 @findex gnus-compile
17173 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17174 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17175 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
17176 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17177 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17178 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17181 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17182 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17183 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17184 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
17185 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
17186 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
17187 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
17191 @section Mode Lines
17194 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17195 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17196 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17197 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17198 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17199 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17200 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17203 @cindex display-time
17205 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17206 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17207 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17208 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17209 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17210 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17211 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17212 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17215 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17217 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17218 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17220 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17221 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17222 (length display-time-string)))))
17225 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17226 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17227 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17228 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17229 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17232 @node Highlighting and Menus
17233 @section Highlighting and Menus
17235 @cindex highlighting
17238 @vindex gnus-visual
17239 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17240 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17241 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17244 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17245 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17248 @item group-highlight
17249 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17250 @item summary-highlight
17251 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17252 @item article-highlight
17253 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17255 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17257 Create menus in the group buffer.
17259 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17261 Create menus in the article buffer.
17263 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17265 Create menus in the server buffer.
17267 Create menus in the score buffers.
17269 Create menus in all buffers.
17272 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17273 buffers, you could say something like:
17276 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17279 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17282 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17285 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17286 in all Gnus buffers.
17288 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17291 @item gnus-mouse-face
17292 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17293 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17294 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17298 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17302 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17303 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17304 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17306 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17307 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17308 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17310 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17311 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17312 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17314 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17315 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17316 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17318 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17319 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17320 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17322 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17323 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17324 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17335 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17336 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17337 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17338 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17339 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17343 @vindex gnus-carpal
17344 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17345 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17346 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17351 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17352 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17353 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17355 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17356 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17357 Face used on buttons.
17359 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17360 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17361 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17363 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17364 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17365 Buttons in the group buffer.
17367 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17368 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17369 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17371 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17372 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17373 Buttons in the server buffer.
17375 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17376 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17377 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17380 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17381 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17382 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17390 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17391 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17392 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17393 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17394 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17396 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17397 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17398 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17400 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17401 been idle for thirty minutes:
17404 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17407 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17411 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17414 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17415 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17416 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17418 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17419 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17420 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17421 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17423 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17424 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17425 @var{idle} minutes.
17427 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17428 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17431 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17432 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17433 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17435 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17436 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17437 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17438 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17440 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17441 your @file{.gnus} file:
17443 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17445 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17448 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17449 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17450 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17451 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17452 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17453 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17454 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17455 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17456 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17457 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17458 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17460 @findex gnus-demon-init
17461 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17462 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17463 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17464 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17465 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17467 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17468 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17469 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17478 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17479 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17481 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17482 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17483 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17484 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17487 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17488 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17489 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17490 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17492 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17493 this will make spam disappear.
17495 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17498 @item gnus-use-nocem
17499 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17500 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17503 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17504 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17505 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17506 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
17507 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
17509 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
17510 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
17511 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
17512 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
17513 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
17514 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
17515 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
17517 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
17520 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
17521 @cindex Chris Lewis
17522 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
17523 usenet abuse than anybody else.
17526 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
17527 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
17528 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
17530 @item jem@@xpat.com;
17532 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
17535 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
17536 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
17537 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
17540 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
17541 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
17542 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
17543 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
17544 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
17545 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
17546 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
17547 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
17548 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
17549 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
17551 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
17552 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
17555 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
17558 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
17559 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
17562 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
17565 The specs are applied left-to-right.
17568 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
17569 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
17571 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
17572 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
17573 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
17574 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
17576 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
17577 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
17580 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
17582 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
17590 This might be dangerous, though.
17592 @item gnus-nocem-directory
17593 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
17594 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
17595 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
17597 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17598 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
17599 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
17600 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
17601 might then see old spam.
17605 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
17606 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
17607 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
17608 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
17615 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
17616 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
17617 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
17619 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
17620 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
17621 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
17622 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
17623 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
17624 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
17625 @code{undo} function.
17627 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
17628 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
17629 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
17630 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
17631 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
17632 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
17633 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
17634 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
17635 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
17636 never be totally undoable.
17638 @findex gnus-undo-mode
17639 @vindex gnus-use-undo
17641 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
17642 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
17643 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
17644 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
17649 @section Moderation
17652 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
17653 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
17654 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
17657 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
17661 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
17664 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
17666 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
17671 You split your incoming mail by matching on
17672 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
17673 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
17676 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
17677 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
17680 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
17681 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
17685 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
17688 (setq gnus-moderated-list
17689 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
17693 @node XEmacs Enhancements
17694 @section XEmacs Enhancements
17697 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
17701 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
17702 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
17703 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
17704 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
17717 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
17718 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
17719 over your shoulder as you read news.
17722 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
17723 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
17724 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
17725 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
17726 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
17731 @subsubsection Picon Basics
17733 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
17742 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
17743 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
17744 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
17745 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
17746 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
17747 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
17748 @code{GIF} formats.
17751 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17752 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
17753 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
17754 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
17755 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
17757 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17758 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
17759 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
17760 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
17761 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
17762 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17765 @node Picon Requirements
17766 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
17768 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
17769 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
17772 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
17773 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
17774 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
17776 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17777 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
17778 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
17779 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
17780 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
17784 @subsubsection Easy Picons
17786 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
17787 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
17790 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
17791 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
17794 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
17795 containing the Picons databases.
17797 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
17800 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17801 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
17806 @subsubsection Hard Picons
17814 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
17815 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
17816 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
17817 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
17818 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
17823 @item gnus-picons-database
17824 @vindex gnus-picons-database
17825 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
17826 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
17827 subdirectories. This is only useful if
17828 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
17829 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
17831 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17832 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
17833 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
17834 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
17835 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
17836 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
17837 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
17839 @item gnus-picons-display-where
17840 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17841 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
17842 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
17843 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
17844 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
17845 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
17846 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
17848 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17849 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
17850 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
17855 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
17856 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
17858 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
17859 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
17862 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
17864 @item gnus-article-display-picons
17865 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17866 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
17867 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
17869 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
17870 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
17871 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
17877 @node Picon Useless Configuration
17878 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
17886 The following variables offer further control over how things are
17887 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
17888 don't need to worry about.
17892 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
17893 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
17894 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17895 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
17897 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
17898 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
17899 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
17900 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
17902 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
17903 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
17904 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
17905 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
17906 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
17908 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17909 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
17910 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
17911 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
17912 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
17913 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
17914 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
17916 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17917 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
17918 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
17919 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
17921 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17922 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
17923 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
17924 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
17925 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
17926 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
17927 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
17929 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17930 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
17931 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
17932 Defaults to @code{nil}.
17934 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
17935 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
17936 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
17937 Defaults to @code{t}.
17939 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17940 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
17941 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
17942 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
17944 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
17945 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
17946 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
17948 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17949 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
17950 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
17951 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
17953 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
17954 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the defailt.
17956 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17957 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
17958 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
17959 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
17960 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
17961 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
17962 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
17963 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
17974 @subsection Smileys
17979 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
17984 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
17985 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
17987 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
17988 @file{.gnus.el} file:
17991 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
17994 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
17995 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
17996 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
17997 text and maps that to file names.
17999 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18000 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18001 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18002 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18003 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18004 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18006 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18007 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18009 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18010 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18011 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18013 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18014 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18018 @item smiley-data-directory
18019 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18020 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18022 @item smiley-flesh-color
18023 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18024 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18026 @item smiley-features-color
18027 @vindex smiley-features-color
18028 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18030 @item smiley-tongue-color
18031 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18032 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18034 @item smiley-circle-color
18035 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18036 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18038 @item smiley-mouse-face
18039 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18040 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18046 @subsection Toolbar
18056 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18057 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18058 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18059 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18060 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18062 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18063 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18064 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18066 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18067 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18068 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18070 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18071 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18072 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18078 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18081 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18082 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18083 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18084 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18085 unusual directory structure.
18087 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18088 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18089 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18090 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18092 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18093 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18094 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18095 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18096 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18097 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18099 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18100 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18101 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18115 @node Fuzzy Matching
18116 @section Fuzzy Matching
18117 @cindex fuzzy matching
18119 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18120 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18122 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18123 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18124 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18126 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18127 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18128 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18129 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18130 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18133 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18134 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18138 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18140 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18141 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18142 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18143 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18144 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18145 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18146 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18147 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18150 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18151 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18152 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18153 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18154 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18155 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18159 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18160 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18162 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18163 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18164 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18165 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18166 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18167 part of the mail address.)
18170 (setq message-default-news-headers
18171 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18174 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18175 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18180 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18181 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18182 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18188 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18189 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18190 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18191 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18193 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18194 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18195 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18196 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18197 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18198 your fancy split rule in this way:
18203 (to "larsi" "misc")
18207 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18208 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18209 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18210 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18211 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18213 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18214 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18215 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
18216 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18217 cosmic balance somewhat.
18219 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18220 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18221 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18222 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18225 @node Various Various
18226 @section Various Various
18232 @item gnus-home-directory
18233 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18234 defaults to @file{~/}.
18236 @item gnus-directory
18237 @vindex gnus-directory
18238 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18239 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18240 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18242 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18243 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18244 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18245 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18247 @item gnus-default-directory
18248 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18249 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18250 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18251 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18252 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18253 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18254 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18257 @vindex gnus-verbose
18258 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18259 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18260 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18261 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18262 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18264 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18265 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18266 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18267 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18269 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18270 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18271 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18272 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18273 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18274 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18275 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18276 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18277 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18278 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18280 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18281 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18282 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18283 read when doing the operation described above.
18285 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18286 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18288 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18289 @cindex characters in file names
18290 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18291 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18292 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18295 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18299 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18300 Windows (phooey) systems.
18302 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18303 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18304 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18305 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18306 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18308 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18309 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18310 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18311 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18312 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18314 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18315 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18316 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18325 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18326 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18328 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18330 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18336 Not because of victories @*
18339 but for the common sunshine,@*
18341 the largess of the spring.
18345 but for the day's work done@*
18346 as well as I was able;@*
18347 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18348 but at the common table.@*
18353 @chapter Appendices
18356 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18357 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18358 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18359 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18360 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18361 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18362 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18363 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18371 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18372 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18374 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18375 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18376 @file{http://quimby.gnus.org/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
18377 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18378 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18380 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18381 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18382 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18383 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18384 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18385 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18387 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18388 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18389 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18390 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18393 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18394 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18395 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18396 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18397 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18398 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18399 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18400 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18401 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18402 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18406 @node Gnus Versions
18407 @subsection Gnus Versions
18408 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18410 @cindex September Gnus
18411 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18413 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18414 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18415 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18417 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18418 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18420 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18421 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18423 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18424 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18426 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18427 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18430 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18431 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
18432 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
18433 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
18434 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
18438 @node Other Gnus Versions
18439 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18442 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18443 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18444 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18445 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18447 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18448 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18449 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18450 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18457 What's the point of Gnus?
18459 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18460 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18461 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18462 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18463 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18464 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18465 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18466 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18467 keep track of millions of people who post?
18469 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18470 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18471 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18472 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18473 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18474 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18475 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18476 every one of you to explore and invent.
18478 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18479 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18482 @node Compatibility
18483 @subsection Compatibility
18485 @cindex compatibility
18486 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18487 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18488 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18493 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18497 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18500 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
18503 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
18504 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
18505 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
18506 important variables have their values copied into their global
18507 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
18508 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
18510 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
18511 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
18512 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
18513 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
18514 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
18518 @cindex highlighting
18519 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
18520 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
18521 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
18522 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
18523 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
18524 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
18527 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
18528 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
18529 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
18530 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
18532 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
18533 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
18534 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
18535 to stop doing it the old way.
18537 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
18539 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18541 @cindex reporting bugs
18543 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
18544 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
18545 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
18547 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
18548 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
18549 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
18550 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
18555 @subsection Conformity
18557 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
18558 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
18565 There are no known breaches of this standard.
18569 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
18571 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
18572 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
18573 We do have some breaches to this one.
18579 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
18580 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
18581 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
18582 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
18583 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
18588 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
18589 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
18590 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
18591 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
18595 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
18596 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
18601 @subsection Emacsen
18607 Gnus should work on :
18615 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
18619 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
18620 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
18623 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
18624 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
18625 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
18629 @node Gnus Development
18630 @subsection Gnus Development
18632 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
18633 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
18634 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
18635 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
18636 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
18637 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
18638 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
18639 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
18641 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
18642 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
18643 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
18644 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
18645 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
18648 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
18649 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
18650 In particular, @code{nnmail-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
18651 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
18652 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
18654 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
18655 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
18656 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
18657 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
18658 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
18659 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
18660 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
18661 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
18662 usually keep up with these rapid changes, whille people on the newsgroup
18663 can't be assumed to do so.
18668 @subsection Contributors
18669 @cindex contributors
18671 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
18672 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
18673 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
18674 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
18675 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
18676 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
18677 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
18678 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
18679 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
18680 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
18682 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
18688 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
18691 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
18692 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
18693 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
18694 functionality and stuff.
18697 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
18698 well as numerous other things).
18701 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
18704 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
18707 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
18710 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
18711 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
18714 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
18717 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
18718 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
18721 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
18724 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
18727 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
18730 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
18733 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
18734 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
18737 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
18740 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
18743 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
18746 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
18750 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
18753 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
18756 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
18759 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
18760 well as autoconf support.
18764 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
18765 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
18767 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
18776 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
18780 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
18790 Alexei V. Barantsev,
18805 Massimo Campostrini,
18810 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
18811 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
18815 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
18818 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
18824 Michael Welsh Duggan,
18829 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
18833 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
18841 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
18843 Michelangelo Grigni,
18847 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
18849 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
18851 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
18858 François Felix Ingrand,
18859 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
18860 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
18862 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
18873 Peter Skov Knudsen,
18874 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
18876 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
18877 Thor Kristoffersen,
18880 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
18898 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
18899 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
18906 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
18911 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
18915 John McClary Prevost,
18921 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
18926 Christian von Roques,
18929 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
18936 Philippe Schnoebelen,
18938 Randal L. Schwartz,
18952 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
18957 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
18973 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
18978 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
18979 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
18980 (550kB and counting).
18982 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
18985 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
18986 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
18990 @subsection New Features
18991 @cindex new features
18994 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
18995 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
18996 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
18997 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19000 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19001 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19002 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19006 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19008 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19013 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19014 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19017 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19018 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19021 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19024 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19025 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19026 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19029 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19030 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19031 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19032 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19035 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19036 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19039 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19040 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19041 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19044 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19045 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19048 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19049 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19050 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19053 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19054 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19055 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19058 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19059 the @file{.emacs} file.
19062 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19063 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19066 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19067 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19070 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19071 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19074 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19075 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19078 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19079 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19082 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19085 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19086 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19089 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19090 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19093 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19094 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19097 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19100 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19101 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19104 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19108 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19112 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19113 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19116 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19122 @node September Gnus
19123 @subsubsection September Gnus
19127 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19131 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19136 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19137 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19141 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19142 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19146 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19150 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19151 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19154 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19158 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19161 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19164 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19167 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19171 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19172 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19175 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19179 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19183 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19187 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19191 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19194 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19195 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19198 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19202 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19203 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19206 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19209 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19210 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19211 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19214 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19218 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19221 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19225 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19226 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19229 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19230 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19233 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19234 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19237 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19238 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19239 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19242 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19243 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19246 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19249 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19252 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19255 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19258 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19259 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19262 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19266 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19269 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19274 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19277 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19281 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19284 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19288 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19291 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19294 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19295 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19298 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19299 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19303 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19304 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19307 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19311 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19312 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19315 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19318 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19322 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19326 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19327 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19330 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19334 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19335 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19338 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19339 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19342 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19346 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19349 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19352 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19358 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19360 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19364 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19371 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19374 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19375 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19378 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19379 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19383 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19384 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19387 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19390 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19391 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19394 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19398 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19399 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19403 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19404 Server Internals}).
19407 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19411 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19414 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19415 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19418 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19419 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19420 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19423 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19424 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19427 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19428 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19431 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19435 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19436 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19439 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19440 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19443 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19447 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19450 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19454 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19455 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19458 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19459 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19462 A new command for reading collections of documents
19463 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19464 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19467 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19471 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19472 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19475 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19476 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19477 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19480 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19481 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19485 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19489 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19493 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19498 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
19502 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
19506 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
19507 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
19510 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
19516 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
19518 New features in Gnus 5.6:
19523 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
19524 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
19525 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
19528 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
19529 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
19530 group, which is created automatically.
19533 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
19537 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
19540 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
19541 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
19544 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
19548 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
19551 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
19552 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
19555 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
19558 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
19559 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
19562 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
19563 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
19566 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
19567 control over simplification.
19570 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
19573 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
19577 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
19580 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
19583 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
19584 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
19585 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
19588 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
19589 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
19592 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
19596 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
19597 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
19600 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
19601 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
19604 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
19608 A history of where mails have been split is available.
19611 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
19614 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
19615 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
19618 A new function for citing in Message has been
19619 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
19622 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
19625 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
19629 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
19630 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
19633 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
19634 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
19637 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
19640 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
19645 @node Newest Features
19646 @subsection Newest Features
19649 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
19652 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
19654 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
19655 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
19658 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
19663 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
19664 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
19667 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
19670 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
19673 facep is not declared.
19676 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
19677 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
19680 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
19685 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
19686 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
19687 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
19688 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
19689 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
19690 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
19691 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
19696 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
19699 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
19702 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
19704 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
19705 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
19707 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
19709 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
19711 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
19712 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
19714 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
19716 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
19717 be marked as unread.
19719 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
19721 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
19723 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
19724 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
19726 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
19728 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
19730 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
19731 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
19733 topics that contain just groups with ticked
19734 articles aren't displayed.
19736 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
19738 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
19739 make the mail groups killed.
19741 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
19743 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
19744 and articles have to be removed.
19746 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
19749 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
19751 finding short score file names takes forever.
19753 canceling articles in foreign groups.
19755 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
19757 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
19759 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
19761 nnweb doesn't work properly.
19763 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
19765 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
19766 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
19770 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
19772 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
19773 bar and the Gnus bar.
19776 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
19777 `(canonize-message-id id)'
19778 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
19779 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
19780 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
19781 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
19786 nnml .overview directory with splits.
19790 postponed commands.
19792 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
19794 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
19797 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
19798 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
19800 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
19801 inherit copy prompts and save files.
19803 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
19805 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
19806 for backends that support that.
19808 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
19810 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
19811 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
19813 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
19814 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
19816 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
19818 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
19820 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
19822 server mode command: close/open all connections
19824 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
19825 has been changed before using it.
19827 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
19829 hide (sub)threads with low score.
19831 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
19833 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
19835 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
19836 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
19838 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
19839 contain groups that match a regexp.
19841 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
19844 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
19847 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
19848 from subject lines.
19850 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
19852 nntp-ping-before-connect
19854 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
19856 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
19857 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
19859 message annotations.
19861 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
19863 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
19864 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
19866 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
19871 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
19873 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
19875 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
19877 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
19878 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
19880 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
19882 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
19884 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
19885 finds and generate proper active ranges.
19887 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
19888 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
19890 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
19892 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
19894 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
19895 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
19897 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
19899 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
19901 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
19902 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
19905 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
19907 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
19909 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
19910 `C-c C-c' when posting.
19912 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
19915 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
19916 should be marker as expirable.
19918 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
19920 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
19921 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
19923 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
19924 Also consult Date headers.
19926 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
19928 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
19930 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
19931 Message-ID, delete the "original".
19933 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
19934 into a See-Also header.
19936 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
19938 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
19940 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
19941 should be listed as such and not as "K".
19943 generate font names dynamically.
19945 score file mode auto-alist.
19947 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
19948 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
19950 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
19951 absolutely all headers there is.
19953 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
19954 and pipe them to the process.
19956 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
19957 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
19958 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
19960 function for starting to edit a file to put into
19961 the current mail group.
19963 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
19965 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
19966 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
19968 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
19969 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
19971 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
19973 when replying to several process-marked articles,
19974 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
19976 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
19977 groups it has been mailed to.
19979 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
19981 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
19983 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
19985 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
19986 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
19988 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
19989 newlines) should be ignored.
19991 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
19992 groups in subtopics as well.
19994 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
19996 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
19999 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20001 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20003 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20005 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20007 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20009 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20011 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20012 or the formatted article.
20014 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20016 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20017 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20019 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20021 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20023 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20025 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20026 even unread articles.
20028 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20030 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20032 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20034 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20036 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20038 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20041 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20042 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20044 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20045 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20047 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20049 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20051 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20052 from a particular server? Hm.
20054 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20055 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20057 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20059 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20060 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20062 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20063 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20065 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20066 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20067 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20070 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20071 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20073 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20075 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20077 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20079 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20082 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20085 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20086 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20088 command to show and edit group scores
20090 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20093 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20095 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20097 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20098 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20101 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20102 that are of that length.
20104 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20106 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20108 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20110 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20112 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20114 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20116 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20117 a score lower than this number.
20119 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20121 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20123 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20124 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20126 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20128 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20129 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20131 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20134 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20135 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20136 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20137 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20139 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20142 command to remove all topic stuff.
20144 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20145 and splitting the resulting digests.
20147 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20149 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20151 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20152 matches an alist -- before saving.
20154 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20156 variable to activate each group before entering them
20157 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20159 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20160 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20162 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20163 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20165 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20167 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20168 of several groups at once.
20170 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20171 matches some regexp(s).
20173 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20175 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20177 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20179 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20181 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20183 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20185 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20187 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20188 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20189 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20190 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20192 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20193 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20195 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20197 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20198 recently cited text.
20200 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20202 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20205 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20206 server and just read the articles in the server
20208 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20209 value of nnoo variables.
20211 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20213 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20214 listed in each group info.
20216 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20219 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20220 should only be applied to some groups.
20222 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20223 mail-copies-to: never.
20225 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20226 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20228 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20230 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20233 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20236 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20238 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20241 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20245 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20247 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20248 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20249 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20250 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20251 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20253 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20254 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
20261 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20262 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20264 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20265 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20267 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20268 "Return the date the group was last read."
20269 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20274 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20275 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20276 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20277 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20281 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20282 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20284 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20287 They could be used like this:
20291 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20292 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20293 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20295 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20297 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20300 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20303 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20304 affect the summary line format.
20308 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20310 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20311 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20313 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20316 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20318 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20320 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20322 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20324 - For other files, just find them normally.
20326 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20327 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20330 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20331 tell him what you are doing.
20334 Currently, I get prompted:
20338 decend into sci.something ?
20342 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20343 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20344 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20345 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20348 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20349 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20350 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20351 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20354 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20355 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20361 more than n blank lines
20363 more than m identical lines
20364 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20366 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20370 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20371 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20372 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20373 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20376 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20377 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20378 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20379 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20382 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20385 soup - bowl of soup
20386 score below - dim light bulb
20387 score over - bright light bulb
20390 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20395 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20396 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20397 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20398 if (articles-selected)
20399 start-reading-selected-articles;
20400 junk-unread-articles;
20405 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20406 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20407 select-thread-under-cursor;
20409 select-article-under-cursor;
20413 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20414 if (more-pages-in-article)
20416 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20423 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20424 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20425 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20428 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20429 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20430 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20431 the wildcard expression).
20434 It would be nice if it also handled
20436 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20438 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20443 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20444 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20445 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20446 article versions) variable.
20448 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20450 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20451 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20455 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20458 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20459 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20460 (message-sent-hook).
20462 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20465 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20469 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20470 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20473 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20474 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20475 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20478 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20479 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20483 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20486 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20490 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20491 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20494 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20495 value of the signature file.
20498 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20499 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
20502 (setq message-tab-alist
20503 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
20504 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
20506 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
20510 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
20513 a command to import a buffer into a group.
20516 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
20519 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
20520 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
20523 a command to process mark all unread articles.
20526 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
20527 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
20528 do more gathering by subject.
20531 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
20532 article numerical order.
20535 (gnus-thread-total-score
20536 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
20540 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
20543 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
20544 in the summary buffer.
20547 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
20548 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
20551 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
20552 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
20553 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
20554 and/or newsgroup name.
20557 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
20560 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
20563 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
20566 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
20567 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
20568 will automatically get the process mark.
20571 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
20572 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
20573 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
20576 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
20580 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
20581 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
20584 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
20585 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
20589 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
20590 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
20593 be able to post via DejaNews.
20596 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
20599 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
20600 allow them to be displayed separately.
20603 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
20604 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
20607 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
20608 articles that match a certain From header.
20611 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
20612 saving living summary buffers.
20615 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
20616 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
20619 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
20620 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
20623 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
20624 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
20627 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
20628 (goto-char (point-min))
20629 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
20630 (replace-match "`" t t))
20631 (goto-char (point-min))
20632 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
20633 (replace-match "'" t t))
20634 (goto-char (point-min))
20635 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
20636 (replace-match "\"" t t))
20637 (goto-char (point-min))
20638 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
20639 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
20644 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
20646 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
20647 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
20648 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
20649 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
20653 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
20656 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
20657 numbers and match on the age of the article.
20661 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
20662 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
20663 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
20665 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
20666 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
20668 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
20669 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
20674 all commands that react to the process mark should push
20675 the current process mark set onto the stack.
20678 gnus-article-hide-pgp
20679 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
20681 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
20683 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
20684 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
20687 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
20688 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
20691 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
20695 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
20696 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
20699 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
20702 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
20705 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
20708 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
20712 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
20718 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
20721 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
20725 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
20726 X characters in the body.
20729 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
20732 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
20735 format spec to "tab" to a position.
20738 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
20741 command to display all dormant articles.
20744 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
20747 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
20748 to something someone else has said.
20751 Read Netscape discussion groups:
20752 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
20755 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
20756 the displayed version.
20759 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
20763 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
20766 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
20767 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
20768 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
20772 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
20773 in the head or body.
20776 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
20779 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
20782 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
20783 in a special, unique buffer.
20786 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
20789 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
20790 is less than a certain number of days old.
20793 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
20796 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
20799 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
20800 file, for instance.
20803 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
20804 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
20805 dummy root instead of the first article.
20808 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
20809 topics for displaying.
20812 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
20813 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
20816 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
20819 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
20820 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
20821 summary buffer for each article.
20824 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
20827 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
20831 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
20834 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
20838 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
20841 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
20844 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
20845 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
20848 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
20849 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
20852 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
20853 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
20856 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
20857 timeout for all commands.
20860 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
20861 It should go somewhere else.
20864 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
20865 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
20866 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
20868 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
20869 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
20871 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
20872 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
20879 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
20880 --text follows this line--
20881 Sorry I killfiled you...
20883 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20885 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
20890 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
20894 - Edit article's summary line.
20896 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
20898 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
20904 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
20908 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
20909 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
20913 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
20916 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
20919 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
20920 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
20921 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
20922 turn into a [-] button.)
20925 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
20926 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
20927 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
20928 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
20931 Handle external-body parts.
20934 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
20938 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
20941 (body "whatever.text")
20945 Solve the halting problem.
20954 @section The Manual
20958 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
20959 either @code{texi2dvi}
20961 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
20962 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
20964 to get what you hold in your hands now.
20966 The following conventions have been used:
20971 This is a @samp{string}
20974 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
20977 This is a @file{file}
20980 This is a @code{symbol}
20984 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
20988 (setq flargnoze "yes")
20991 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
20994 (setq flumphel 'yes)
20997 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
20998 ever get them confused.
21002 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21003 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21004 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21005 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21006 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21007 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21008 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21014 @node On Writing Manuals
21015 @section On Writing Manuals
21017 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21018 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21019 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21020 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21021 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21022 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21025 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21026 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21027 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21030 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21031 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21036 @section Terminology
21038 @cindex terminology
21043 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21044 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21045 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21046 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21047 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21051 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21052 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21053 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21054 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21058 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21062 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21067 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21068 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21069 is all done by the backends.
21073 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21074 default, way of getting news.
21078 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21079 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21084 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21085 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21089 A message that has been posted as news.
21092 @cindex mail message
21093 A message that has been mailed.
21097 A mail message or news article
21101 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21106 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21111 A line from the head of an article.
21115 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21116 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21120 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21121 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21122 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21123 normal @sc{head} format.
21127 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21128 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21129 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21130 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21131 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21132 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21134 @item killed groups
21135 @cindex killed groups
21136 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21137 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21139 @item zombie groups
21140 @cindex zombie groups
21141 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21144 @cindex active file
21145 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21146 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21147 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21150 @cindex bogus groups
21151 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21152 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21153 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21156 @cindex activating groups
21157 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21158 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21159 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21163 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21165 @item select method
21166 @cindex select method
21167 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21170 @item virtual server
21171 @cindex virtual server
21172 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21173 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21174 whole is a virtual server.
21178 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21179 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21182 @item ephemeral groups
21183 @cindex ephemeral groups
21184 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21185 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21186 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21189 @cindex solid groups
21190 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21191 group buffer are solid groups.
21193 @item sparse articles
21194 @cindex sparse articles
21195 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21196 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21200 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21201 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21205 @cindex thread root
21206 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21207 articles in the thread.
21211 An article that has responses.
21215 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21219 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21220 specified by RFC 1153.
21226 @node Customization
21227 @section Customization
21228 @cindex general customization
21230 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21231 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21232 for some quite common situations.
21235 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21236 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21237 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21238 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21242 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21243 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21245 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21246 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21247 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21251 @item gnus-read-active-file
21252 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21253 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21254 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21255 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21256 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21258 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21259 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21260 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21261 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21265 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21266 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21268 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21269 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21270 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21274 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21275 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21276 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21277 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21278 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21280 @item gnus-visible-headers
21281 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21282 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21283 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21284 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21286 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21288 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21289 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21290 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21293 @item gnus-use-full-window
21294 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21295 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21296 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21297 want to read them anyway.
21299 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21300 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21303 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21304 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21305 lines, which might save some time.
21309 @node Little Disk Space
21310 @subsection Little Disk Space
21313 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21314 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21318 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21319 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21320 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21321 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21324 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21325 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21326 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21327 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21330 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21331 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21332 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21333 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21334 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21340 @subsection Slow Machine
21341 @cindex slow machine
21343 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21344 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21346 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21347 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21349 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21350 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21351 summary buffer faster.
21355 @node Troubleshooting
21356 @section Troubleshooting
21357 @cindex troubleshooting
21359 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21367 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21370 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21371 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21375 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21376 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
21377 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
21378 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21381 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21385 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21386 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21387 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21388 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21389 something like that.
21392 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21395 @cindex reporting bugs
21397 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21399 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21400 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21401 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21402 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21404 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21405 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21406 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21407 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21410 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21411 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21412 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21413 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21414 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21415 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21417 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21418 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21419 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21422 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21423 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21425 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21426 @cindex ding mailing list
21427 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21428 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21432 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21433 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21435 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21436 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21437 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21438 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21441 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21442 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21443 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21444 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21445 and general methods of operation.
21448 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21449 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21450 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21451 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21452 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21453 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21454 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21455 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21456 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21460 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21461 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21462 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21463 @cindex utility functions
21465 @cindex internal variables
21467 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21468 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21469 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21473 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21474 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21475 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21477 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21478 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21479 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21481 @item gnus-group-real-name
21482 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21483 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21486 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21487 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21488 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21489 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21491 @item gnus-get-info
21492 @findex gnus-get-info
21493 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21495 @item gnus-group-unread
21496 @findex gnus-group-unread
21497 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
21501 @findex gnus-active
21502 The active entry for @var{group}.
21504 @item gnus-set-active
21505 @findex gnus-set-active
21506 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
21508 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21509 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
21510 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
21513 @item gnus-continuum-version
21514 @findex gnus-continuum-version
21515 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
21516 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
21519 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
21520 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
21521 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
21523 @item gnus-news-group-p
21524 @findex gnus-news-group-p
21525 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
21527 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21528 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
21529 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
21531 @item gnus-server-to-method
21532 @findex gnus-server-to-method
21533 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
21535 @item gnus-server-equal
21536 @findex gnus-server-equal
21537 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
21539 @item gnus-group-native-p
21540 @findex gnus-group-native-p
21541 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
21543 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
21544 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
21545 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
21547 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
21548 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
21549 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
21551 @item group-group-find-parameter
21552 @findex group-group-find-parameter
21553 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
21554 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
21556 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
21557 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
21558 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
21560 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
21561 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
21562 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
21564 @item gnus-check-backend-function
21565 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
21566 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
21567 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
21570 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
21574 @item gnus-read-method
21575 @findex gnus-read-method
21576 Prompts the user for a select method.
21581 @node Backend Interface
21582 @subsection Backend Interface
21584 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
21585 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
21586 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
21587 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
21588 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
21589 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
21591 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
21592 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
21593 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
21594 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
21595 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
21596 been opened, the function should fail.
21598 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
21599 name. Take this example:
21603 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
21604 (nntp-port-number 4324))
21607 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
21608 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
21610 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
21611 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
21612 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
21614 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
21615 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
21616 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
21618 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
21619 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
21620 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
21621 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
21622 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
21623 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
21626 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
21627 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
21628 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
21629 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
21632 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
21635 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
21638 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
21639 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
21640 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
21641 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
21642 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
21643 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
21647 @node Required Backend Functions
21648 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
21652 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
21654 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
21655 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
21656 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
21657 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
21659 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
21660 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
21661 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
21662 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
21664 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
21665 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
21666 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
21667 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
21668 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
21669 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
21670 number, do maximum fetches.
21672 Here's an example HEAD:
21675 221 1056 Article retrieved.
21676 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
21677 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
21678 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
21679 Subject: Re: Something very droll
21680 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
21681 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
21683 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
21684 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
21685 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
21689 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
21690 these in the data buffer.
21692 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
21696 head = error / valid-head
21697 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
21698 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
21699 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
21700 header = <text> eol
21703 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
21704 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
21708 nov-buffer = *nov-line
21709 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
21710 field = <text except TAB>
21713 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
21717 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
21719 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
21720 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
21722 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
21723 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
21724 server. In fact, it should do so.
21726 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
21727 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
21730 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
21732 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
21733 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
21736 There should be no data returned.
21739 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
21741 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
21742 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
21743 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
21744 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
21746 There should be no data returned.
21749 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
21751 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
21752 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
21753 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
21754 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
21756 There should be no data returned.
21759 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
21761 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
21763 There should be no data returned.
21766 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
21768 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
21769 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
21770 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
21771 it would be nice if that were possible.
21773 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
21774 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
21775 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
21776 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
21777 into its article buffer.
21779 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
21780 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
21781 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
21782 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
21783 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
21784 on successful article retrieval.
21787 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
21789 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
21790 making @var{group} the current group.
21792 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
21795 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
21798 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
21801 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
21802 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
21803 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
21804 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
21805 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
21806 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
21807 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
21808 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
21811 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
21812 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
21813 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
21817 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
21819 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
21820 a no-op on most backends.
21822 There should be no data returned.
21825 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
21827 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
21830 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
21833 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
21834 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
21837 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
21838 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
21841 active-file = *active-line
21842 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
21844 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
21847 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
21848 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
21849 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
21852 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
21854 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
21855 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
21856 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
21857 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
21858 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
21859 clear if the posting could not be completed.
21861 There should be no result data from this function.
21866 @node Optional Backend Functions
21867 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
21871 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
21873 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
21874 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
21875 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
21877 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
21878 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
21879 former is in the same format as the data from
21880 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
21881 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
21884 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
21888 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
21890 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
21891 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
21892 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
21893 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
21894 should return the (altered) group info.
21896 There should be no result data from this function.
21899 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
21901 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
21902 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
21903 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
21904 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
21905 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
21906 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
21907 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
21908 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
21910 There should be no result data from this function.
21913 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
21915 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
21916 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
21917 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
21918 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
21919 propagate the mark information to the server.
21921 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
21924 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
21927 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
21928 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
21929 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
21930 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
21931 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
21932 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
21933 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
21934 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
21935 not limit itself to these.
21937 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
21938 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
21939 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
21940 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
21942 An example action list:
21945 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
21946 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
21947 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
21950 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
21951 mark on (currently not used for anything).
21953 There should be no result data from this function.
21955 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
21957 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
21958 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
21959 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
21960 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
21961 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
21963 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
21964 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
21965 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
21968 There should be no result data from this function.
21971 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
21973 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
21974 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
21975 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
21976 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
21977 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
21978 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
21979 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
21981 There should be no result data from this function.
21984 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
21986 The result data from this function should be a description of
21990 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
21992 description = <text>
21995 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
21997 The result data from this function should be the description of all
21998 groups available on the server.
22001 description-buffer = *description-line
22005 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22007 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22008 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22009 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22012 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22014 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22016 There should be no return data.
22019 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22021 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22022 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22023 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22024 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22025 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22028 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22031 There should be no result data returned.
22034 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22037 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22038 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22040 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22041 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22042 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22043 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22044 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22045 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22047 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22048 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22051 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22052 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22054 There should be no data returned.
22057 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22059 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22060 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22061 this function in short order.
22063 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22064 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22066 There should be no data returned.
22069 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22071 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22072 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22074 There should be no data returned.
22077 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22079 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22080 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22081 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22083 There should be no data returned.
22086 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22088 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22089 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22091 There should be no data returned.
22096 @node Error Messaging
22097 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22099 @findex nnheader-report
22100 @findex nnheader-get-report
22101 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22102 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22103 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22104 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22105 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22106 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22109 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22111 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22114 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22115 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22116 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22117 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22119 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22120 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22121 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22124 @node Writing New Backends
22125 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22127 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22128 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22129 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22130 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22131 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22134 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22135 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22136 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22138 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22139 package called @code{nnoo}.
22141 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22142 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22148 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22149 parameters. For instance:
22152 (nnoo-declare nndir
22156 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22157 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22160 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22161 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22162 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22164 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22165 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22166 a function in those backends.
22169 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22170 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22171 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22174 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22175 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22176 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22178 @item nnoo-define-basics
22179 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22183 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22187 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22188 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22189 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22191 @item nnoo-map-functions
22192 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22193 functions from the parent backends.
22196 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22197 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22198 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22201 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22202 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22203 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22204 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22207 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22208 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22209 haven't already been defined.
22215 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22219 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22220 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22221 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22226 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22229 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22230 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22234 (require 'nnheader)
22238 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22240 (nnoo-declare nndir
22243 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22244 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22245 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22247 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22248 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22251 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22252 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22253 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22255 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22256 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22258 ;;; Interface functions.
22260 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22262 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22263 (setq nndir-directory
22264 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22266 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22267 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22268 (push `(nndir-current-group
22269 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22271 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22272 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22274 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22276 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22277 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22278 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22279 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22280 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22284 nnmh-status-message
22286 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22292 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22293 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22295 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22296 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22297 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22298 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22300 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22301 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22306 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22309 The abilities can be:
22313 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22315 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22317 This backend supports both mail and news.
22319 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22322 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22323 articles and groups.
22325 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22326 true for almost all backends.
22327 @item prompt-address
22328 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22329 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22330 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22334 @node Mail-like Backends
22335 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22337 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22338 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22339 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22340 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22343 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22344 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22345 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22348 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22349 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22352 This function takes four parameters.
22356 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22359 @item exit-function
22360 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22362 @item temp-directory
22363 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22366 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22367 performed for one group only.
22370 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22371 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22372 find the article number assigned to this article.
22374 The function also uses the following variables:
22375 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22376 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22377 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22378 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22382 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22383 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22387 @node Score File Syntax
22388 @subsection Score File Syntax
22390 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22391 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22392 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22394 Here's a typical score file:
22398 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22405 BNF definition of a score file:
22408 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22409 element = rule / atom
22410 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22411 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22412 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22413 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22415 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22416 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22417 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22418 date-header = "date"
22419 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22420 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22421 score = "nil" / <integer>
22422 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22423 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22424 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22425 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22426 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22427 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22428 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22429 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22430 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22431 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22432 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22433 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22434 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22435 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22436 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22437 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22438 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22439 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22440 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22441 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22442 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22443 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22444 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22445 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22446 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22447 eval = "eval" space <form>
22448 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22451 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22454 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22455 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22456 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22457 one looong line, then that's ok.
22459 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22460 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22464 @subsection Headers
22466 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22467 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22468 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22469 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22471 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22472 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22473 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22474 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22475 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22476 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22477 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22479 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22480 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22481 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22482 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22483 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22485 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22486 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22492 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22493 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22495 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22496 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
22497 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
22498 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
22500 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
22504 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
22507 is transformed into
22510 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
22513 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
22514 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
22517 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
22520 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
22521 is slightly tricky:
22524 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
22530 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
22533 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
22539 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
22546 and is equal to the previous range.
22548 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
22549 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
22550 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
22554 range = simple-range / normal-range
22555 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
22556 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
22557 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
22558 number *[ " " contents ]
22561 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
22562 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
22563 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
22564 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
22565 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
22570 @subsection Group Info
22572 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
22573 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
22574 describes the group.
22576 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
22577 second is a more complex one:
22580 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
22582 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
22583 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
22585 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
22588 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
22589 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
22590 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
22591 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
22592 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
22593 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
22594 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
22595 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
22596 this section is about.
22598 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
22599 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
22600 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
22602 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
22605 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
22606 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
22607 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22608 group = quote <string> quote
22609 ralevel = rank / level
22610 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22611 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
22612 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
22614 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
22615 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
22616 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
22617 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
22620 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
22621 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
22624 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
22625 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
22628 @item gnus-info-group
22629 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
22630 @findex gnus-info-group
22631 @findex gnus-info-set-group
22632 Get/set the group name.
22634 @item gnus-info-rank
22635 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
22636 @findex gnus-info-rank
22637 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
22638 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
22640 @item gnus-info-level
22641 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
22642 @findex gnus-info-level
22643 @findex gnus-info-set-level
22644 Get/set the group level.
22646 @item gnus-info-score
22647 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
22648 @findex gnus-info-score
22649 @findex gnus-info-set-score
22650 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
22652 @item gnus-info-read
22653 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
22654 @findex gnus-info-read
22655 @findex gnus-info-set-read
22656 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
22658 @item gnus-info-marks
22659 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
22660 @findex gnus-info-marks
22661 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
22662 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
22664 @item gnus-info-method
22665 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
22666 @findex gnus-info-method
22667 @findex gnus-info-set-method
22668 Get/set the group select method.
22670 @item gnus-info-params
22671 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
22672 @findex gnus-info-params
22673 @findex gnus-info-set-params
22674 Get/set the group parameters.
22677 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
22678 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
22680 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
22681 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
22682 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
22683 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
22686 @node Extended Interactive
22687 @subsection Extended Interactive
22688 @cindex interactive
22689 @findex gnus-interactive
22691 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
22692 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
22693 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
22696 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
22697 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
22702 The best thing to do would have been to implement
22703 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
22704 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
22705 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
22706 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
22707 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
22708 @code{interactive}.
22710 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
22715 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
22716 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
22720 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
22721 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
22722 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
22725 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
22729 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
22733 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
22739 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
22740 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
22744 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
22745 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
22746 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
22748 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
22749 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
22750 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
22751 Gnus, that's very useful.
22753 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
22754 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
22755 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
22756 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
22757 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
22758 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
22759 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
22760 following function:
22763 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
22767 (,function ,@@args))
22771 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
22772 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
22773 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
22776 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
22777 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
22778 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
22780 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
22781 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
22782 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
22785 @node Various File Formats
22786 @subsection Various File Formats
22789 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
22790 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
22794 @node Active File Format
22795 @subsubsection Active File Format
22797 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
22798 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
22801 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
22804 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
22805 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
22806 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
22807 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
22808 no.general 1000 900 y
22811 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
22814 active = *group-line
22815 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
22816 group = <non-white-space string>
22818 high-number = <non-negative integer>
22819 low-number = <positive integer>
22820 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
22823 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
22824 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
22827 @node Newsgroups File Format
22828 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
22830 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
22831 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
22832 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
22835 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
22836 Here's the definition:
22840 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
22841 group = <non-white-space string>
22843 description = <string>
22848 @node Emacs for Heathens
22849 @section Emacs for Heathens
22851 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
22852 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
22853 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
22854 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
22855 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
22856 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
22857 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
22861 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
22862 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
22867 @subsection Keystrokes
22871 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
22874 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
22877 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
22878 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
22879 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
22880 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
22881 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
22882 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
22884 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
22885 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
22886 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
22887 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
22888 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
22889 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
22890 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
22892 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
22893 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
22894 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
22895 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
22896 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
22897 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
22898 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
22900 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
22901 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
22902 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
22903 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
22904 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
22910 @subsection Emacs Lisp
22912 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
22913 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
22914 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
22915 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
22917 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
22918 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
22919 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
22920 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
22921 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
22922 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
22923 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
22926 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
22927 write the following:
22930 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
22933 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
22934 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
22935 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
22938 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
22939 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
22940 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
22941 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
22942 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
22944 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
22945 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
22946 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
22950 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
22954 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
22957 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
22958 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
22961 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
22964 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
22965 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
22968 @include gnus-faq.texi