1 \input texinfo @c -*-texinfo-*-
4 @settitle Pterodactyl Gnus 0.37 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
14 @setchapternewpage odd
18 \documentclass[twoside,a4paper,openright,11pt]{book}
19 \usepackage[latin1]{inputenc}
20 \usepackage{pagestyle}
28 \newcommand{\gnuschaptername}{}
29 \newcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
31 \newcommand{\gnusbackslash}{/}
33 \newcommand{\gnusxref}[1]{See ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
34 \newcommand{\gnuspxref}[1]{see ``#1'' on page \pageref{#1}}
36 \newcommand{\gnuskindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
37 \newcommand{\gnusindex}[1]{\index{#1}}
39 \newcommand{\gnustt}[1]{{\fontfamily{pfu}\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont #1}}
40 \newcommand{\gnuscode}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
41 \newcommand{\gnussamp}[1]{``{\fontencoding{OT1}\fontfamily{pfu}\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont #1}''}
42 \newcommand{\gnuslisp}[1]{\gnustt{#1}}
43 \newcommand{\gnuskbd}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
44 \newcommand{\gnusfile}[1]{`\gnustt{#1}'}
45 \newcommand{\gnusdfn}[1]{\textit{#1}}
46 \newcommand{\gnusi}[1]{\textit{#1}}
47 \newcommand{\gnusstrong}[1]{\textbf{#1}}
48 \newcommand{\gnusemph}[1]{\textit{#1}}
49 \newcommand{\gnusvar}[1]{{\fontsize{10pt}{10}\selectfont\textsl{\textsf{#1}}}}
50 \newcommand{\gnussc}[1]{\textsc{#1}}
51 \newcommand{\gnustitle}[1]{{\huge\textbf{#1}}}
52 \newcommand{\gnusauthor}[1]{{\large\textbf{#1}}}
54 \newcommand{\gnusbullet}{{${\bullet}$}}
55 \newcommand{\gnusdollar}{\$}
56 \newcommand{\gnusampersand}{\&}
57 \newcommand{\gnuspercent}{\%}
58 \newcommand{\gnushash}{\#}
59 \newcommand{\gnushat}{\symbol{"5E}}
60 \newcommand{\gnusunderline}{\symbol{"5F}}
61 \newcommand{\gnusnot}{$\neg$}
62 \newcommand{\gnustilde}{\symbol{"7E}}
63 \newcommand{\gnusless}{{$<$}}
64 \newcommand{\gnusgreater}{{$>$}}
65 \newcommand{\gnusbraceleft}{{$>$}}
66 \newcommand{\gnusbraceright}{{$>$}}
68 \newcommand{\gnushead}{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-head.eps,height=1cm}}}
69 \newcommand{\gnusinteresting}{
70 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\gnushead]{\gnushead}
73 \newcommand{\gnuscleardoublepage}{\ifodd\count0\mbox{}\clearpage\thispagestyle{empty}\mbox{}\clearpage\else\clearpage\fi}
75 \newcommand{\gnuspagechapter}[1]{
82 \newcommand{\gnuschapter}[2]{
84 \ifdim \gnusdimen = 0pt\setcounter{page}{1}\pagestyle{gnus}\pagenumbering{arabic} \gnusdimen 1pt\fi
86 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{}
87 \renewcommand{\gnuschaptername}{#2}
90 \begin{picture}(500,500)(0,0)
91 \put(480,350){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{#1}}
92 \put(40,300){\makebox(500,50)[bl]{{\Huge\bf{#2}}}}
97 \newcommand{\gnusfigure}[3]{
99 \mbox{}\ifodd\count0\hspace*{-0.8cm}\else\hspace*{-3cm}\fi\begin{picture}(440,#2)
106 \newcommand{\gnusicon}[1]{
107 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\raisebox{-1.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/#1-up.ps,height=1.5cm}}]{\raisebox{-1cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/#1-up.ps,height=1cm}}}
110 \newcommand{\gnuspicon}[1]{
111 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=2cm}}
114 \newcommand{\gnusxface}[2]{
115 \margindex{\epsfig{figure=#1,width=1cm}\epsfig{figure=#2,width=1cm}}
118 \newcommand{\gnussmiley}[2]{
119 \margindex{\makebox[2cm]{\hfill\epsfig{figure=#1,width=0.5cm}\hfill\epsfig{figure=#2,width=0.5cm}\hfill}}
122 \newcommand{\gnusitemx}[1]{\mbox{}\vspace*{-\itemsep}\vspace*{-\parsep}\item#1}
124 \newcommand{\gnussection}[1]{
125 \renewcommand{\gnussectionname}{#1}
129 \newenvironment{codelist}%
134 \newenvironment{kbdlist}%
140 \newenvironment{dfnlist}%
145 \newenvironment{stronglist}%
150 \newenvironment{samplist}%
155 \newenvironment{varlist}%
160 \newenvironment{emphlist}%
165 \newlength\gnusheadtextwidth
166 \setlength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{\headtextwidth}
167 \addtolength{\gnusheadtextwidth}{1cm}
169 \newpagestyle{gnuspreamble}%
174 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\mbox{}}\textbf{\hfill\roman{page}}}
178 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\roman{page}\hfill\mbox{}}}
187 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
189 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
194 \newpagestyle{gnusindex}%
199 \hspace*{-0.23cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\gnuschaptername\hfill\arabic{page}}}}
203 \hspace*{-3.25cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}
211 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
213 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
223 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{3.1cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{chapter}.\arabic{section}} \textbf{\gnussectionname\hfill\arabic{page}}}}}
227 \makebox[12cm]{\hspace*{-2.95cm}\underline{\makebox[\gnusheadtextwidth]{\textbf{\arabic{page}\hfill\gnuschaptername}}}}
235 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
237 \raisebox{-0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=1cm}}
242 \pagenumbering{roman}
243 \pagestyle{gnuspreamble}
253 %\addtolength{\oddsidemargin}{-5cm}
254 %\addtolength{\evensidemargin}{-5cm}
256 \addtolength{\textheight}{2cm}
258 \gnustitle{\gnustitlename}\\
261 \hspace*{0cm}\epsfig{figure=ps/gnus-big-logo.eps,height=15cm}
264 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
271 \thispagestyle{empty}
273 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97,98 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
275 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
276 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
277 are preserved on all copies.
279 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
280 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
281 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
282 permission notice identical to this one.
284 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
285 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
294 This file documents Gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
296 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
298 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
299 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
300 are preserved on all copies.
303 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
304 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
305 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
306 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
309 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
310 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
311 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
312 permission notice identical to this one.
314 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
315 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
321 @title Pterodactyl Gnus 0.37 Manual
323 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
326 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
327 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
329 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
330 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
331 are preserved on all copies.
333 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
334 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
335 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
336 permission notice identical to this one.
338 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
339 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
348 @top The Gnus Newsreader
352 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using Gnus. The news
353 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
354 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
357 This manual corresponds to Pterodactyl Gnus 0.37.
368 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
369 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
371 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
372 being accused of plagiarism:
374 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
375 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
376 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
377 even read news with it!
379 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
380 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
381 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend Gnus to make it behave
382 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
383 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.
405 @chapter Starting Gnus
410 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting Gnus
411 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
414 @findex gnus-other-frame
415 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
416 If you want to start Gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
417 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
419 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
420 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
421 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
423 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
424 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
427 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
428 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
429 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
430 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
431 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
432 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
433 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
434 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
435 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
436 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
437 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
441 @node Finding the News
442 @section Finding the News
445 @vindex gnus-select-method
447 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where Gnus should look for
448 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
449 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
450 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
453 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
454 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
457 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
460 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
463 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
466 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
467 certainly be much faster.
469 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
471 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
472 If this variable is not set, Gnus will take a look at the
473 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
474 Gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
475 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
476 that fails as well, Gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
478 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
479 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
480 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
481 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
483 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
484 You can also make Gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
485 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
486 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), Gnus will let you choose between the servers
487 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
488 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
490 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
492 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
493 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
494 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
495 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
496 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
497 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
499 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
501 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
502 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
503 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
504 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
505 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
506 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
509 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
510 would typically set this variable to
513 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
518 @section The First Time
519 @cindex first time usage
521 If no startup files exist, Gnus will try to determine what groups should
522 be subscribed by default.
524 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
525 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, Gnus
526 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
527 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
530 Since she hasn't, Gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
531 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
532 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
534 You'll also be subscribed to the Gnus documentation group, which should
535 help you with most common problems.
537 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, Gnus will just
538 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
542 @node The Server is Down
543 @section The Server is Down
544 @cindex server errors
546 If the default server is down, Gnus will understandably have some
547 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
548 the news groups, you may want to start Gnus anyway.
550 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
551 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
552 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
553 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
554 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
555 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
556 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
558 @findex gnus-no-server
559 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
561 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
562 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
563 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start Gnus. That might come in handy
564 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
565 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
566 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
571 @section Slave Gnusae
574 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one Gnus at the
575 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
576 are using the two different Gnusae to read from two different servers),
577 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
579 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
582 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the Gnus
583 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
584 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
585 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
586 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
587 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
588 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
590 Anyways, you start one Gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
591 however you do it). Each subsequent slave Gnusae should be started with
592 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
593 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
594 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master Gnus
595 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
596 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
597 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
599 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
600 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
603 @node Fetching a Group
604 @section Fetching a Group
605 @cindex fetching a group
607 @findex gnus-fetch-group
608 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
609 group and I don't care whether Gnus has been started or not''. This is
610 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
611 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
612 It takes the group name as a parameter.
620 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
621 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
622 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
623 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
624 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
625 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
626 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
627 @code{always}, then Gnus will query the backends for new groups even
628 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
631 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
632 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
633 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
637 @node Checking New Groups
638 @subsection Checking New Groups
640 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
641 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
642 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
643 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, Gnus will ask the
644 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
645 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
646 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
647 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
648 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
649 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
651 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
652 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
653 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
654 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
655 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
656 work. I could write a function to make Gnus guess whether the server
657 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
658 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
659 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
660 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
661 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
663 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, Gnus will
664 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
665 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
666 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
667 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
668 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
671 @node Subscription Methods
672 @subsection Subscription Methods
674 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
675 What Gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
676 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
678 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
679 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
681 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
685 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
686 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
687 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
688 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
689 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
691 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
693 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
694 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
696 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
697 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
698 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
700 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
701 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
702 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
703 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
704 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
705 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
706 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
707 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
708 up. Or something like that.
710 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
711 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
712 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that Gnus will ask
713 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
714 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
722 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
723 A closely related variable is
724 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
725 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will ask you in a
726 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
727 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
730 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
731 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
732 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
733 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
736 @node Filtering New Groups
737 @subsection Filtering New Groups
739 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
740 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
741 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
744 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
747 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
748 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
749 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
750 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
751 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
752 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
753 subscribing these groups.
754 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
755 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
757 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
758 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
759 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
760 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
761 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
762 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
763 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
764 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
766 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
767 Yet another variable that meddles here is
768 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
769 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
770 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
771 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
772 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
773 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
774 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
775 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
777 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
778 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
781 @node Changing Servers
782 @section Changing Servers
783 @cindex changing servers
785 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
786 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
787 very flaky and you want to use another.
789 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
790 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
794 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
795 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
796 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
797 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
800 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
801 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
802 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
803 functions more than absolutely necessary.
805 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
806 @findex gnus-change-server
807 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
808 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
809 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
810 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
811 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
813 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
814 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
815 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
817 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
820 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
821 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
822 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
823 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
824 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
826 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
827 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
828 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
832 @section Startup Files
833 @cindex startup files
838 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
839 information is traditionally stored in this file.
841 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
842 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
843 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
844 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
845 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
846 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
847 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
849 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
850 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
851 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
852 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
853 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
854 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
856 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
857 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
858 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
859 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from Gnus faster.
860 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
861 Gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
863 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
864 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
865 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
866 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
867 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
868 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
869 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
870 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
871 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
872 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
873 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
874 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
876 @vindex gnus-startup-file
877 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
878 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
879 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
881 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
882 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
883 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
884 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
885 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
886 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
887 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
888 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
889 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
890 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
893 (defun turn-off-backup ()
894 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
896 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
897 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
900 @vindex gnus-init-file
901 When Gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
902 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
903 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
904 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
905 @file{site-init} files with Gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
906 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
907 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
908 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
909 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
918 Whenever you do something that changes the Gnus data (reading articles,
919 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
920 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
921 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
922 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
925 If Gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
926 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
929 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
930 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, Gnus won't create and
931 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
933 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
934 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
935 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, Gnus will dribble
936 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
937 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
938 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
940 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
941 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
942 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
945 @node The Active File
946 @section The Active File
948 @cindex ignored groups
950 When Gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
951 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
952 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
954 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
955 Before examining the active file, Gnus deletes all lines that match the
956 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
957 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make Gnus
958 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
959 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
960 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
963 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
964 @c if you set it to anything else.
966 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
968 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
969 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
970 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
972 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
973 you actually subscribe to.
975 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
976 variable to @code{nil} will probably make Gnus slower, not faster. At
977 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow Gnus down
978 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
980 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
981 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
982 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
983 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
984 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
985 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
987 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will ask for group info in total
988 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
989 @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
990 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
991 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
992 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
994 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
995 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
997 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
998 secondary select methods.
1001 @node Startup Variables
1002 @section Startup Variables
1006 @item gnus-load-hook
1007 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1008 A hook run while Gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1009 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1010 times you start Gnus.
1012 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1013 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1014 A hook run after starting up Gnus successfully.
1016 @item gnus-startup-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1018 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1020 @item gnus-started-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1022 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up Gnus
1025 @item gnus-started-hook
1026 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1027 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1028 generating the group buffer.
1030 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1031 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1032 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1033 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1034 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1035 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1036 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1037 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1039 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1040 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1041 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1042 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1043 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1044 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1046 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1047 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1048 Message displayed by Gnus when no groups are available.
1050 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1051 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1052 If non-@code{nil}, play the Gnus jingle at startup.
1054 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1055 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1056 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1057 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1062 @node The Group Buffer
1063 @chapter The Group Buffer
1064 @cindex group buffer
1066 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1067 is the first buffer shown when Gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1068 long as Gnus is active.
1072 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1073 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1074 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1075 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1076 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1077 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1078 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1079 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1085 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1086 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1087 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1088 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1089 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1090 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1091 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1092 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1093 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1094 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1095 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1096 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1097 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1098 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1099 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1100 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1101 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1105 @node Group Buffer Format
1106 @section Group Buffer Format
1109 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1110 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1111 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1115 @node Group Line Specification
1116 @subsection Group Line Specification
1117 @cindex group buffer format
1119 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1120 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1122 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1125 25: news.announce.newusers
1126 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1131 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1132 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1133 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1134 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1136 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1137 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1138 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1139 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1140 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1141 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1143 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1145 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1146 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1147 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1148 never examined by Gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1151 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1152 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1153 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1155 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1160 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1163 Whether the group is subscribed.
1166 Level of subscribedness.
1169 Number of unread articles.
1172 Number of dormant articles.
1175 Number of ticked articles.
1178 Number of read articles.
1181 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1182 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1185 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1188 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1197 Newsgroup description.
1200 @samp{m} if moderated.
1203 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1212 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1216 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1219 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1220 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1221 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1222 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1223 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1226 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1228 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1232 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1236 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1237 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1238 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1239 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1240 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1241 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1246 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1247 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1248 group, or a bogus native group.
1251 @node Group Modeline Specification
1252 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1253 @cindex group modeline
1255 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1256 The mode line can be changed by setting
1257 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1258 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1262 The native news server.
1264 The native select method.
1268 @node Group Highlighting
1269 @subsection Group Highlighting
1270 @cindex highlighting
1271 @cindex group highlighting
1273 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1274 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1275 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1276 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1277 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1279 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1283 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1
1284 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1285 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2
1286 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3
1288 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4
1290 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5
1292 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1294 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1295 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1296 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1297 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1298 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1299 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1302 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1304 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1311 The number of unread articles in the group.
1315 Whether the group is a mail group.
1317 The level of the group.
1319 The score of the group.
1321 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1323 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1324 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1326 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1327 topic being inserted.
1330 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1331 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal Gnus
1332 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1334 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1335 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1336 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1337 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1338 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1341 @node Group Maneuvering
1342 @section Group Maneuvering
1343 @cindex group movement
1345 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1346 expected, hopefully.
1352 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1353 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1354 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1360 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1361 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1362 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1366 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1367 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1371 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1372 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1376 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1377 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1378 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1382 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1383 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1384 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1387 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1393 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1394 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1395 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1400 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1401 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1402 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1406 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1407 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1408 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1411 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1412 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1413 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1414 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1418 @node Selecting a Group
1419 @section Selecting a Group
1420 @cindex group selection
1425 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1426 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1427 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1428 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1429 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1430 this command, Gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1431 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1432 determines the number of articles Gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1433 positive, Gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1434 negative, Gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1438 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1439 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1440 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1441 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1442 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1446 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1447 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1448 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1449 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1450 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1451 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1452 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1453 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), Gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1454 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1455 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1458 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1459 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1460 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1461 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1462 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1465 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1466 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1467 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1468 doing any processing of its contents
1469 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1470 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1471 manner will have no permanent effects.
1475 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1476 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what Gnus should consider
1477 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1478 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, Gnus will query the user
1479 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1480 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1481 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1482 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1485 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1486 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1487 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1488 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1493 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1494 full summary buffer.
1497 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1500 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1505 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
1506 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
1507 Useful functions include:
1510 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
1511 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
1512 don't select the article.
1514 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
1515 Select the first unread article.
1517 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
1518 Select the highest-scored unread article.
1522 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1523 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1524 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1528 @node Subscription Commands
1529 @section Subscription Commands
1530 @cindex subscription
1538 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1539 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1540 Toggle subscription to the current group
1541 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1547 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1548 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1549 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1550 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1556 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1557 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1558 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1564 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1565 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1568 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1569 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1570 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1571 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1572 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1578 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1579 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1583 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1584 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1587 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1588 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1589 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1590 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1591 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1592 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1593 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1594 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1595 @file{.newsrc} file.
1599 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1609 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1610 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1611 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1612 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1613 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1614 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
1619 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1620 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1621 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1625 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1626 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1627 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1629 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1630 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1631 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1632 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1633 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1634 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1641 @section Group Levels
1645 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1646 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1647 can ask Gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1648 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1649 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1651 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1657 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1658 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1659 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1660 prompted for a level.
1663 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1664 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1665 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1666 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1667 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1668 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1669 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1670 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1671 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1672 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1673 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1674 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1675 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1676 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1677 reasons of efficiency.
1679 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1680 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1682 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1683 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1684 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1686 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1687 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1688 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1689 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1690 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1691 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1692 relevant valid ranges.
1694 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1695 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1696 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1697 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1698 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1699 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1702 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1703 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1704 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1707 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1708 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1709 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1710 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1713 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1714 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1715 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1716 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1718 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1719 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1720 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1721 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1722 to 5. The default is 6.
1726 @section Group Score
1731 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1732 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1733 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1736 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1737 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1738 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1739 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1740 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1741 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1742 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1744 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1745 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1746 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1747 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1748 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1749 action after each summary exit, you can add
1750 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1751 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1752 slow things down somewhat.
1755 @node Marking Groups
1756 @section Marking Groups
1757 @cindex marking groups
1759 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1760 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1761 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1762 bidding on those groups.
1764 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1765 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1766 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1774 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1775 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1781 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1782 Remove the mark from the current group
1783 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1787 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1788 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1792 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1793 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1797 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1798 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1802 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1803 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1804 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1807 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1809 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1810 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1811 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1812 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1813 the command to be executed.
1816 @node Foreign Groups
1817 @section Foreign Groups
1818 @cindex foreign groups
1820 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1821 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1822 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1823 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1830 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1831 @cindex making groups
1832 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1833 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1834 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1838 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1839 @cindex renaming groups
1840 Rename the current group to something else
1841 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1842 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1848 @findex gnus-group-customize
1849 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1854 @cindex renaming groups
1855 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1856 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1860 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1861 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1862 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1866 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1867 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1868 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1872 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1874 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1875 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1880 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1881 Make the Gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1885 @cindex (ding) archive
1886 @cindex archive group
1887 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1888 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1889 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1890 Make a Gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1891 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1892 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1893 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1897 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1899 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1900 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1901 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1902 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1906 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1908 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1909 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1910 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1914 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1915 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1917 Make a group based on some file or other
1918 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1919 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1920 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1921 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1922 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1923 this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file type.
1924 @xref{Document Groups}.
1928 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
1929 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
1930 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
1931 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
1935 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1940 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1941 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1942 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1943 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1944 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1945 @xref{Web Searches}.
1947 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1948 to a particular group by using a match string like
1949 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1952 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1953 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1954 This function will delete the current group
1955 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1956 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1957 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1958 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1959 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1963 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1964 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1965 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1969 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1970 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1971 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1974 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1977 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1978 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1979 Gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1980 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1981 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1982 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1986 @node Group Parameters
1987 @section Group Parameters
1988 @cindex group parameters
1990 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1991 Here's an example group parameter list:
1994 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1998 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
1999 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2000 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2001 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2003 The following group parameters can be used:
2008 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2011 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2014 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2015 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2016 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2017 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2018 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2020 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2021 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2022 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2023 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2024 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2025 list address instead.
2029 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2032 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2035 It is totally ignored
2036 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2037 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2039 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2040 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2041 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2042 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2043 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2045 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2046 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2047 sending the message.
2051 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2052 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2053 of whether it has any unread articles.
2055 @item broken-reply-to
2056 @cindex broken-reply-to
2057 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2058 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2059 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2060 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2061 broken behavior. So there!
2065 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2066 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2070 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, Gnus
2071 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2072 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2077 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2078 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2079 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2080 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2081 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2082 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2083 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2087 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2088 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2089 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2092 @cindex total-expire
2093 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2094 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2095 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2096 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2101 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2102 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2103 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2104 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2105 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2106 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2109 @cindex score file group parameter
2110 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2111 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2112 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2115 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2116 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2117 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2118 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2121 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2122 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2123 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2124 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2127 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2128 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2132 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2135 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2140 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2141 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2142 Gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2146 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2147 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2148 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2150 @item @var{(variable form)}
2151 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2152 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2153 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2154 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2155 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2156 @code{eval}ed there.
2158 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2159 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2160 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2161 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2162 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2166 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2167 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2171 @node Listing Groups
2172 @section Listing Groups
2173 @cindex group listing
2175 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2183 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2184 List all groups that have unread articles
2185 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2186 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2187 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2188 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2195 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2196 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2197 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2198 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2199 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2200 unsubscribed groups).
2204 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2205 List all unread groups on a specific level
2206 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2207 with no unread articles.
2211 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2212 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2213 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2214 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2219 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2220 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2224 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2225 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2226 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2230 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2231 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2235 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2236 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2237 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2238 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2239 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2240 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2241 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2242 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2246 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2247 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2248 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2252 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2253 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2254 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2258 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2259 @cindex visible group parameter
2260 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2261 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2262 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2263 get the same effect.
2265 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2266 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2267 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2268 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2269 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2272 @node Sorting Groups
2273 @section Sorting Groups
2274 @cindex sorting groups
2276 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2277 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2278 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2279 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2280 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2281 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2286 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2287 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2288 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2290 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2291 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2292 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2294 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2295 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2296 Sort by group level.
2298 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2299 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2300 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2302 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2304 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2305 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2307 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2308 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2309 Sort by number of unread articles.
2311 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2312 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2313 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2318 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2319 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2323 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2324 some sorting criteria:
2328 @kindex G S a (Group)
2329 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2330 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2331 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2334 @kindex G S u (Group)
2335 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2336 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2337 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2340 @kindex G S l (Group)
2341 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2342 Sort the group buffer by group level
2343 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2346 @kindex G S v (Group)
2347 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2348 Sort the group buffer by group score
2349 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2352 @kindex G S r (Group)
2353 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2354 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2355 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2358 @kindex G S m (Group)
2359 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2360 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2361 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2365 All the commands below obeys the process/prefix convention
2366 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2368 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2369 commands will sort in reverse order.
2371 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2375 @kindex G P a (Group)
2376 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2377 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2378 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2381 @kindex G P u (Group)
2382 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2383 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2384 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2387 @kindex G P l (Group)
2388 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2389 Sort the groups by group level
2390 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2393 @kindex G P v (Group)
2394 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2395 Sort the groups by group score
2396 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2399 @kindex G P r (Group)
2400 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2401 Sort the groups by group rank
2402 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2405 @kindex G P m (Group)
2406 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2407 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
2408 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2414 @node Group Maintenance
2415 @section Group Maintenance
2416 @cindex bogus groups
2421 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2422 Find bogus groups and delete them
2423 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2427 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2428 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2429 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2430 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2431 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2435 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2436 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2437 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2438 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2441 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2442 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2443 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2444 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2449 @node Browse Foreign Server
2450 @section Browse Foreign Server
2451 @cindex foreign servers
2452 @cindex browsing servers
2457 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2458 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2459 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2460 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2463 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2464 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2465 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2466 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2468 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2473 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2474 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2478 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2479 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2482 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2483 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2484 Enter the current group and display the first article
2485 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2488 @kindex RET (Browse)
2489 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2490 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2494 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2495 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2496 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2502 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2503 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2507 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2508 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2509 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2514 @section Exiting Gnus
2515 @cindex exiting Gnus
2517 Yes, Gnus is ex(c)iting.
2522 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2523 Suspend Gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit Gnus,
2524 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
2525 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2529 @findex gnus-group-exit
2530 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2531 Quit Gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2535 @findex gnus-group-quit
2536 Quit Gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
2537 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2540 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2541 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2542 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend Gnus and
2543 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit Gnus, while
2544 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2549 If you wish to completely unload Gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2550 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2551 trying to customize meta-variables.
2556 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2557 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2558 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2564 @section Group Topics
2567 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2568 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2569 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2570 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2571 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2572 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2576 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2577 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2588 2: alt.religion.emacs
2591 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2593 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2594 13: comp.sources.unix
2597 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2599 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2600 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2601 is a toggling command.)
2603 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2604 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2605 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2606 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2609 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2610 the hook for the group mode:
2613 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2617 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2618 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2619 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2620 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2621 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2625 @node Topic Variables
2626 @subsection Topic Variables
2627 @cindex topic variables
2629 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2630 really neat, I think.
2632 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2633 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2634 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2647 Number of groups in the topic.
2649 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2651 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2654 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2655 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2656 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2659 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2660 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2662 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2663 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2664 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2667 @node Topic Commands
2668 @subsection Topic Commands
2669 @cindex topic commands
2671 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2672 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2673 definitions slightly.
2679 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2680 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2681 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2685 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2686 Move the current group to some other topic
2687 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2688 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2692 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2693 Copy the current group to some other topic
2694 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2695 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2699 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2700 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2701 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2702 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2703 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2704 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2705 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2708 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2709 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2713 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2714 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2715 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2719 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2720 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2721 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2725 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2726 Toggle hiding empty topics
2727 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2731 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2732 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2733 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2736 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2737 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2738 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2739 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2743 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2745 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2746 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2747 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2748 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2749 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2750 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2754 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2756 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2757 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2758 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2759 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2762 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2763 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2764 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2765 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2769 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2770 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2771 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2775 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2776 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2777 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2782 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2783 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2786 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2787 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2788 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2792 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2793 List all groups that Gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2794 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2798 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2799 @cindex group parameters
2800 @cindex topic parameters
2802 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2803 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2809 @subsection Topic Sorting
2810 @cindex topic sorting
2812 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2818 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2819 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2820 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2821 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2824 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2825 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2826 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2827 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2830 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2831 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2832 Sort the current topic by group level
2833 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2836 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2837 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2838 Sort the current topic by group score
2839 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2842 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2843 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2844 Sort the current topic by group rank
2845 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2848 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2849 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2850 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2851 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2855 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2858 @node Topic Topology
2859 @subsection Topic Topology
2860 @cindex topic topology
2863 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2869 2: alt.religion.emacs
2872 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2874 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2875 13: comp.sources.unix
2878 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2879 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2880 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2885 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2886 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2890 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2891 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2892 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2893 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2894 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2895 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2897 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2898 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2899 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2902 @node Topic Parameters
2903 @subsection Topic Parameters
2904 @cindex topic parameters
2906 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2907 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2908 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2910 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2911 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2912 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2913 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2919 2: alt.religion.emacs
2923 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2925 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2926 13: comp.sources.unix
2930 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2931 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2932 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2933 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2934 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2935 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2937 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2938 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2939 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2940 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2941 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2943 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2944 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2945 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2946 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2947 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2948 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2949 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2950 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2953 @node Misc Group Stuff
2954 @section Misc Group Stuff
2957 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2958 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
2959 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2960 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
2967 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2968 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2969 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2973 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2974 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2975 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2979 @findex gnus-group-mail
2980 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2984 Variables for the group buffer:
2988 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2989 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2990 is called after the group buffer has been
2993 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2994 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2995 is called after the group buffer is
2996 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2999 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3000 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3001 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3002 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3004 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3005 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3006 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3007 whether they are empty or not.
3012 @node Scanning New Messages
3013 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3014 @cindex new messages
3015 @cindex scanning new news
3021 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3022 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3023 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3024 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3025 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3026 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3031 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3032 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3033 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3034 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3035 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3036 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3037 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3039 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3040 @cindex activating groups
3042 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3043 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3048 @findex gnus-group-restart
3049 Restart Gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3050 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3051 Gnus variables, and then starts Gnus all over again.
3055 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3056 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3058 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3059 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3063 @node Group Information
3064 @subsection Group Information
3065 @cindex group information
3066 @cindex information on groups
3073 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3074 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3077 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3078 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3079 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3080 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3081 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3082 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3083 for fetching the file.
3085 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, Gnus will attempt to go
3086 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3090 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3092 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3093 @cindex describing groups
3094 @cindex group description
3095 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3096 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3097 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3101 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3102 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3103 prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3110 @findex gnus-version
3111 Display current Gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3115 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3116 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3119 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3122 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3123 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3127 @node Group Timestamp
3128 @subsection Group Timestamp
3130 @cindex group timestamps
3132 It can be convenient to let Gnus keep track of when you last read a
3133 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3134 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3137 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3140 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3142 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3143 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3146 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3147 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3150 This will result in lines looking like:
3153 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3154 0: custom 19961002T012713
3157 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3158 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3162 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3163 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3168 @subsection File Commands
3169 @cindex file commands
3175 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3176 @vindex gnus-init-file
3177 @cindex reading init file
3178 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3179 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3183 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3184 @cindex saving .newsrc
3185 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3186 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3187 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3190 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3191 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3192 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3197 @node The Summary Buffer
3198 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3199 @cindex summary buffer
3201 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3202 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3204 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3205 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3207 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3210 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3211 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3212 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3213 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3214 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3215 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3216 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3217 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3218 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3219 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3220 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3221 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3222 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3223 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3224 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3225 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3226 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3227 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3228 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3229 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3230 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3231 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3232 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3233 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3234 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3235 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3236 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3237 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3241 @node Summary Buffer Format
3242 @section Summary Buffer Format
3243 @cindex summary buffer format
3247 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3248 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3249 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3255 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3256 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3257 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3260 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3261 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3262 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3263 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3264 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3265 @code{From} header. Two pre-defined functions exist:
3266 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3267 fast, and too simplistic solution; and
3268 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works very nicely, but is
3269 slower. The default function will return the wrong answer in 5% of the
3270 cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the other function instead:
3273 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3274 'mail-extract-address-components)
3277 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3278 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3279 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3280 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3283 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3284 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3286 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3287 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3288 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3289 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3290 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3292 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3294 The following format specification characters are understood:
3302 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3303 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3304 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3306 Full @code{From} header.
3308 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3310 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3311 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3312 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3313 may be more thorough.
3315 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3318 Number of lines in the article.
3320 Number of characters in the article.
3322 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3324 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3325 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3327 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3328 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3330 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3331 for adopted articles.
3333 One space for each thread level.
3335 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3340 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3341 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3345 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3347 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3348 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3349 default level. If the difference between
3350 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3351 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3359 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3361 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3367 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3368 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3370 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3371 article has any children.
3377 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3378 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3379 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3380 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3381 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3382 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3385 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3386 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, Gnus will
3387 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3388 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3389 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3390 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3392 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3393 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3395 This restriction may disappear in later versions of Gnus.
3398 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3399 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3401 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3402 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3403 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3404 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3406 Here are the elements you can play with:
3412 Unprefixed group name.
3414 Current article number.
3416 Current article score.
3420 Number of unread articles in this group.
3422 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3425 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3426 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3427 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3428 and no unselected ones.
3430 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3431 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3433 Subject of the current article.
3435 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3437 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3439 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3441 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3443 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3445 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3449 @node Summary Highlighting
3450 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3454 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3455 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3456 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3457 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3458 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3460 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3461 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3462 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3463 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3465 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3466 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3467 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3468 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3470 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3471 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3472 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3473 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3474 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3475 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3477 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3478 ((> score default) . bold))
3480 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3481 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3485 @node Summary Maneuvering
3486 @section Summary Maneuvering
3487 @cindex summary movement
3489 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3490 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3492 None of these commands select articles.
3497 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3498 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3499 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3500 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3501 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3505 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3506 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3507 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3508 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3509 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3514 @kindex G j (Summary)
3515 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3516 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3517 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3520 @kindex G g (Summary)
3521 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3522 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3523 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3526 If Gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3527 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3528 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3529 to the group buffer.
3531 Variables related to summary movement:
3535 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3536 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3537 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3538 no more unread articles after the current one, Gnus will offer to go to
3539 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3540 empty, Gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3541 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, Gnus will select the
3542 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3543 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, Gnus will select the
3544 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3545 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3546 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3547 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3548 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3550 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3551 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3552 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3553 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3554 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3555 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3556 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3558 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3560 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3561 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3562 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3563 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3564 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3566 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3567 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3568 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3569 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3570 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3571 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3572 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3573 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3579 @node Choosing Articles
3580 @section Choosing Articles
3581 @cindex selecting articles
3584 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3585 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3589 @node Choosing Commands
3590 @subsection Choosing Commands
3592 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3593 and they all select and display an article.
3597 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3598 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3599 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3600 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3605 @kindex G n (Summary)
3606 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3607 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3608 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3613 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3614 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3615 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3620 @kindex G N (Summary)
3621 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3622 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3627 @kindex G P (Summary)
3628 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3629 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3632 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3633 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3634 Go to the next article with the same subject
3635 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3638 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3639 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3640 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3641 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3645 @kindex G f (Summary)
3647 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3648 Go to the first unread article
3649 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3653 @kindex G b (Summary)
3655 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3656 Go to the article with the highest score
3657 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3662 @kindex G l (Summary)
3663 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3664 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3667 @kindex G o (Summary)
3668 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3670 @cindex article history
3671 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3672 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3673 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3674 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3675 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3676 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3680 @node Choosing Variables
3681 @subsection Choosing Variables
3683 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3686 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3687 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3688 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3689 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3690 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3691 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3693 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3694 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3695 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3696 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3698 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3699 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3700 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3701 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3702 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3703 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3704 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3705 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3706 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3707 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3708 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3709 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3710 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3711 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3716 @node Paging the Article
3717 @section Scrolling the Article
3718 @cindex article scrolling
3723 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3724 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3725 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3726 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3727 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3730 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3731 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3732 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3735 @kindex RET (Summary)
3736 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3737 Scroll the current article one line forward
3738 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3741 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
3742 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
3743 Scroll the current article one line backward
3744 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
3748 @kindex A g (Summary)
3750 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3751 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3752 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3753 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3754 the way it came from the server.
3759 @kindex A < (Summary)
3760 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3761 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3762 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3767 @kindex A > (Summary)
3768 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3769 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3773 @kindex A s (Summary)
3775 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3776 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3777 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3781 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3782 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3787 @node Reply Followup and Post
3788 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3791 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3792 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3796 @node Summary Mail Commands
3797 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3799 @cindex composing mail
3801 Commands for composing a mail message:
3807 @kindex S r (Summary)
3809 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3810 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3811 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3812 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3813 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3818 @kindex S R (Summary)
3819 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3820 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3821 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3822 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3823 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3826 @kindex S w (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3828 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3829 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3830 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3831 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3834 @kindex S W (Summary)
3835 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3836 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3837 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3838 the process/prefix convention.
3841 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3842 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3843 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3844 Forward the current article to some other person
3845 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3846 headers of the forwarded article.
3851 @kindex S m (Summary)
3852 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3853 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3854 Send a mail to some other person
3855 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3858 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3859 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3860 @cindex bouncing mail
3861 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3862 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3863 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3864 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3865 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3866 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, Gnus will try to fetch
3867 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3868 very well fail, though.
3871 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3872 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3873 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3874 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3875 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3876 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3877 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3878 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3879 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3880 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3882 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3883 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3884 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3885 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3886 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
3888 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3889 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3892 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3893 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3894 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3895 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3896 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3899 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3900 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3901 @cindex crossposting
3902 @cindex excessive crossposting
3903 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3904 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3906 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3907 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3908 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3909 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3910 command understands the process/prefix convention
3911 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3915 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3918 @node Summary Post Commands
3919 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3921 @cindex composing news
3923 Commands for posting a news article:
3929 @kindex S p (Summary)
3930 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3931 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3932 Post an article to the current group
3933 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3938 @kindex S f (Summary)
3939 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3940 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3941 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3945 @kindex S F (Summary)
3947 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3948 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3949 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3950 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3951 process/prefix convention.
3954 @kindex S n (Summary)
3955 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3956 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3957 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3960 @kindex S N (Summary)
3961 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3962 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3963 message through mail and include the original message
3964 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3965 the process/prefix convention.
3968 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3969 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3970 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3971 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3972 headers of the forwarded article.
3975 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3976 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3978 @cindex making digests
3979 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3980 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3981 process/prefix convention.
3984 @kindex S u (Summary)
3985 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3986 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3987 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3988 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3991 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3994 @node Canceling and Superseding
3995 @section Canceling Articles
3996 @cindex canceling articles
3997 @cindex superseding articles
3999 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4000 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4002 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4004 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4006 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4007 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4008 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4009 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4010 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4011 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4013 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4014 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4017 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4018 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4019 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4021 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4022 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4023 your original article.
4025 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4027 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4028 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4029 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4032 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4033 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4034 have posted almost the same article twice.
4036 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4037 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4038 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4039 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4040 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4041 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4042 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4043 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4044 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4045 canceled/superseded.
4047 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4050 @node Marking Articles
4051 @section Marking Articles
4052 @cindex article marking
4053 @cindex article ticking
4056 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4058 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4059 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4060 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4062 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4065 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4066 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4067 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4071 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4075 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4076 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4080 @node Unread Articles
4081 @subsection Unread Articles
4083 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4088 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4089 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4091 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4092 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4093 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4094 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4095 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4099 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4100 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4102 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4103 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4104 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4107 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4108 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4110 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4115 @subsection Read Articles
4116 @cindex expirable mark
4118 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4123 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4124 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4125 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4128 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4129 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4132 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4133 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4134 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4137 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4138 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4141 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4142 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4145 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4146 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4149 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4150 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4153 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4154 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4157 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4158 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4161 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4162 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4166 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4167 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4168 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4172 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4173 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4175 One more special mark, though:
4179 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4180 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4182 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4183 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4184 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4185 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by Gnus at
4191 @subsection Other Marks
4192 @cindex process mark
4195 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4201 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4202 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4203 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4204 in the article, and Gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4205 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4208 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4209 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4210 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4211 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4214 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4215 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4216 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4219 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4220 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4221 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4222 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4225 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4226 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4227 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4228 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4229 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4232 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4233 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4234 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4235 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4236 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4237 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4241 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4242 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4243 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4245 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4246 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4247 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4251 @subsection Setting Marks
4252 @cindex setting marks
4254 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4259 @kindex M c (Summary)
4260 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4261 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4262 @cindex mark as unread
4263 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4264 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4270 @kindex M t (Summary)
4271 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4272 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4273 @xref{Article Caching}.
4278 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4279 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4280 Mark the current article as dormant
4281 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
4285 @kindex M d (Summary)
4287 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4288 Mark the current article as read
4289 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4293 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4294 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4295 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4300 @kindex M k (Summary)
4301 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4302 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4303 and then select the next unread article
4304 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4308 @kindex M K (Summary)
4309 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4310 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4311 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4312 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4315 @kindex M C (Summary)
4316 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4317 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4318 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4321 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4322 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4323 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4324 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4327 @kindex M H (Summary)
4328 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4329 Catchup the current group to point
4330 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4333 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4334 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4335 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4336 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4339 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4340 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4341 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4342 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4346 @kindex M e (Summary)
4348 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4349 Mark the current article as expirable
4350 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4353 @kindex M b (Summary)
4354 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4355 Set a bookmark in the current article
4356 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4359 @kindex M B (Summary)
4360 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4361 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4362 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4365 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4366 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4367 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4368 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4371 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4373 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4374 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4377 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4379 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4380 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4381 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4384 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4385 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4386 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4387 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4388 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4389 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4390 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4391 The default is @code{t}.
4394 @node Setting Process Marks
4395 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4396 @cindex setting process marks
4403 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4404 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4405 Mark the current article with the process mark
4406 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4407 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4411 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4412 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4413 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4414 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4417 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4419 Remove the process mark from all articles
4420 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4423 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4425 Invert the list of process marked articles
4426 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4429 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4430 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4431 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4432 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4435 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4436 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4437 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4440 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4441 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4442 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4443 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4446 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4447 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4448 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4449 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4452 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4453 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4454 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4455 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4458 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4459 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4460 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4463 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4464 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4465 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4466 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4469 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4470 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4471 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4474 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4475 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4476 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4477 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4480 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4481 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4482 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4483 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4486 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4487 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4488 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4489 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4492 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4493 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4494 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4495 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4504 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4505 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4506 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4509 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4510 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4511 additional articles.
4517 @kindex / / (Summary)
4518 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4519 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4520 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4523 @kindex / a (Summary)
4524 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4525 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4526 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4530 @kindex / u (Summary)
4532 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4533 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4534 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4535 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4536 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4539 @kindex / m (Summary)
4540 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4541 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4542 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4545 @kindex / t (Summary)
4546 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4547 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4548 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4549 articles younger than that number of days.
4552 @kindex / n (Summary)
4553 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4554 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4555 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4556 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4559 @kindex / w (Summary)
4560 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4561 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4562 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4566 @kindex / v (Summary)
4567 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4568 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4569 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4573 @kindex M S (Summary)
4574 @kindex / E (Summary)
4575 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4576 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4577 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4580 @kindex / D (Summary)
4581 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4582 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4583 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4586 @kindex / * (Summary)
4587 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4588 Include all cached articles in the limit
4589 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4592 @kindex / d (Summary)
4593 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4594 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4595 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4598 @kindex / T (Summary)
4599 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4600 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4603 @kindex / c (Summary)
4604 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4605 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4606 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4609 @kindex / C (Summary)
4610 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4611 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4612 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4613 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4621 @cindex article threading
4623 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4624 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4625 hierarchical fashion.
4627 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4628 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4629 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4630 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4631 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4632 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4633 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4635 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4639 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4642 A tree-like article structure.
4645 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4648 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4649 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4650 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4651 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4652 called loose threads.
4654 @item thread gathering
4655 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4657 @item sparse threads
4658 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4659 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4665 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4666 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4670 @node Customizing Threading
4671 @subsection Customizing Threading
4672 @cindex customizing threading
4675 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4676 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4677 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4678 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4683 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4686 @cindex loose threads
4689 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4690 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4691 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4692 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4693 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4694 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4696 When there is no real root of a thread, Gnus will have to fudge
4697 something. This variable says what fudging method Gnus should use.
4698 There are four possible values:
4702 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4703 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4704 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4705 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4706 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4711 @cindex adopting articles
4716 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4717 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4718 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4719 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4722 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4723 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4724 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4725 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4726 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4727 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4728 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4731 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4732 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4733 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4737 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4738 display them after one another.
4741 Don't gather loose threads.
4744 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4745 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4746 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4747 variable is @code{nil}, Gnus requires an exact match between the
4748 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4749 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4750 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4751 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4752 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4753 variable to a really low number, you'll find that Gnus will gather
4754 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4756 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4757 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, Gnus will
4758 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4761 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4762 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4763 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4764 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4765 simplification is used.
4767 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4768 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4769 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4770 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4772 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4774 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4780 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4781 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4782 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4783 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4788 (mapconcat 'identity
4789 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4791 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4794 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4797 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4798 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4799 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4800 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4801 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4802 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4804 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4807 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4808 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4809 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4811 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4812 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4815 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4816 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4817 Remove excessive whitespace.
4820 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4823 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4824 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4825 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4826 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4827 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4828 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4829 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4830 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4832 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4833 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4834 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4835 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4836 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4837 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4838 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4839 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4840 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4844 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4845 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4846 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4847 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4849 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4850 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4851 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4854 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4858 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4859 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4865 @node Filling In Threads
4866 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4869 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4870 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4871 If non-@code{nil}, Gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4872 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
4873 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
4874 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
4875 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
4876 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
4877 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
4878 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4879 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4880 expired by the server, there's not much Gnus can do about that.
4882 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4883 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4884 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4886 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4887 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4888 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4889 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4890 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4891 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4892 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where Gnus guesses that an article
4893 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4894 lines. If you select a gap, Gnus will try to fetch the article in
4895 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, Gnus will display all these
4896 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4897 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, Gnus won't cut
4898 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4899 @code{nil} by default.
4904 @node More Threading
4905 @subsubsection More Threading
4908 @item gnus-show-threads
4909 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4910 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4911 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4912 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4913 slower and more awkward.
4915 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4916 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4917 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4920 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4921 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4922 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4923 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4924 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4925 threads are expunged.
4927 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4928 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4929 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4932 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4933 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4934 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4935 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4936 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4939 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4940 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4941 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4947 @node Low-Level Threading
4948 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4952 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4953 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4954 Hook run before parsing any headers.
4956 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4957 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4958 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4959 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4960 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4961 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4962 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4963 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4964 meaningful. Here's one example:
4967 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4969 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4970 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4972 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4974 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4981 @node Thread Commands
4982 @subsection Thread Commands
4983 @cindex thread commands
4989 @kindex T k (Summary)
4990 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4991 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4992 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4993 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4994 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4999 @kindex T l (Summary)
5000 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5001 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5002 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5003 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5006 @kindex T i (Summary)
5007 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5008 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5009 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5012 @kindex T # (Summary)
5013 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5014 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5015 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5018 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5019 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5020 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5021 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5024 @kindex T T (Summary)
5025 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5026 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5029 @kindex T s (Summary)
5030 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5031 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5032 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5035 @kindex T h (Summary)
5036 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5037 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5040 @kindex T S (Summary)
5041 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5042 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5045 @kindex T H (Summary)
5046 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5047 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5050 @kindex T t (Summary)
5051 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5052 Re-thread the current article's thread
5053 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5054 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5057 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5058 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5059 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5060 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5064 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5065 understand the numeric prefix.
5070 @kindex T n (Summary)
5071 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5072 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5075 @kindex T p (Summary)
5076 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5077 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5080 @kindex T d (Summary)
5081 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5082 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5085 @kindex T u (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5087 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5090 @kindex T o (Summary)
5091 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5092 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5095 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5096 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5097 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5098 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5099 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5100 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5101 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5102 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5103 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5104 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5105 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5106 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5113 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5114 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5115 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5116 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5117 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5118 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5119 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5120 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5121 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5122 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5123 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5124 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5125 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5126 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5128 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5129 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5130 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5131 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5132 in the list. You should probably always include
5133 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5134 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5135 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5136 ascending article order.
5138 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5139 number, you could do something like:
5142 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5143 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5144 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5145 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5148 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5149 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5150 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5151 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5152 which the articles arrived.
5154 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5158 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5160 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5161 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5164 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5165 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5166 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5167 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5170 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5171 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5172 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5173 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5174 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5175 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5176 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5177 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5178 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5179 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5180 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5181 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5182 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5184 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5188 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5189 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5190 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5195 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5196 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5197 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5198 @cindex article pre-fetch
5201 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5202 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5203 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5204 article appears. Why can't Gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5205 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5207 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5208 article fetching, especially the way Gnus does it.
5210 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5211 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5212 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5213 article 3, but since Gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5214 connection is blocked.
5216 To avoid these situations, Gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5217 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5218 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5219 extra connection takes some time, so Gnus startup will be slower.
5221 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5222 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5223 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5224 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5227 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5230 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5231 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5232 happen automatically.
5234 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5235 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5236 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5237 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5238 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5239 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5240 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5242 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5243 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5244 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5245 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5246 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5247 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5248 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5249 data structure as the only parameter.
5251 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5254 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5255 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5256 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5257 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5260 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5263 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5264 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down Gnus too much.
5265 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5267 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5268 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5269 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5270 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5274 Remove articles when they are read.
5277 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5280 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5282 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5283 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5284 @c from the next group.
5287 @node Article Caching
5288 @section Article Caching
5289 @cindex article caching
5292 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5293 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5294 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5295 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5296 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5298 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5300 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5301 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5302 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5303 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5304 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5305 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5306 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5307 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5309 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5310 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5311 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5312 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5313 as dormant, and don't worry.
5315 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5317 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5318 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5319 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5320 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5321 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5322 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5323 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5324 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5325 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5326 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5328 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5329 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5330 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5331 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5332 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5333 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5334 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5335 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5336 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5337 not then be downloaded by this command.
5339 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5340 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
5341 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
5342 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5343 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5344 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
5346 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
5347 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
5348 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
5349 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
5350 variables, the group is not cached.
5352 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5353 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5354 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5355 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5356 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5357 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, Gnus
5358 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5359 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5360 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5364 @node Persistent Articles
5365 @section Persistent Articles
5366 @cindex persistent articles
5368 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5369 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5370 useful in my opinion.
5372 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5373 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5374 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5375 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5376 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5377 the expiry going on at the news server.
5379 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5380 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5381 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5387 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5388 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5391 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5392 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5393 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5394 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5398 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5400 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5401 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5402 interested in persistent articles:
5405 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5409 @node Article Backlog
5410 @section Article Backlog
5412 @cindex article backlog
5414 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5415 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5416 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where Gnus will buffer
5417 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5418 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5419 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5420 that, turning the backlog on will slow Gnus down a little bit, and
5421 increase memory usage some.
5423 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5424 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, Gnus will store
5425 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5426 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, Gnus will store
5427 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5428 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5429 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5431 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5434 @node Saving Articles
5435 @section Saving Articles
5436 @cindex saving articles
5438 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5439 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5440 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5441 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5442 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5444 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5445 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will not delete
5446 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5448 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5449 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5450 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5451 deleted before saving.
5457 @kindex O o (Summary)
5459 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5460 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5461 Save the current article using the default article saver
5462 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5465 @kindex O m (Summary)
5466 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5467 Save the current article in mail format
5468 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5471 @kindex O r (Summary)
5472 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5473 Save the current article in rmail format
5474 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5477 @kindex O f (Summary)
5478 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5479 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5480 Save the current article in plain file format
5481 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5484 @kindex O F (Summary)
5485 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5486 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5487 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5490 @kindex O b (Summary)
5491 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5492 Save the current article body in plain file format
5493 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5496 @kindex O h (Summary)
5497 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5498 Save the current article in mh folder format
5499 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5502 @kindex O v (Summary)
5503 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5504 Save the current article in a VM folder
5505 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5508 @kindex O p (Summary)
5509 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5510 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5511 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5514 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5515 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5516 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5517 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5518 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5519 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5520 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5521 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5522 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5523 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5524 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5525 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5529 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5530 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5531 Gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
5532 functions below, or you can create your own.
5536 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5537 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5538 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5539 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5540 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5541 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5542 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5544 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5545 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5546 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5547 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5548 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5549 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5551 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5552 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5553 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5554 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5555 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5556 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5557 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5559 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5560 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5561 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5562 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5563 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5565 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5566 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5567 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5568 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5569 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5572 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5573 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5574 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5575 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5576 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5578 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5579 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5580 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5581 reader to use this setting.
5584 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5585 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5586 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5587 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5590 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5591 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5592 available functions that generate names:
5596 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5597 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5598 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5600 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5601 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5602 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5604 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5605 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5606 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5608 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5609 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5610 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5613 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5614 You can have Gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
5615 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
5616 save articles related to Gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
5617 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
5621 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5622 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5623 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5624 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5627 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5628 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5629 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5630 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5631 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5632 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5633 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5634 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5635 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5637 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5638 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5639 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5640 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5642 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5643 means that Gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5644 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
5647 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5648 lots of mail groups called things like
5649 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5650 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5651 following will do just that:
5654 (defun my-save-name (group)
5655 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5656 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5658 (setq gnus-split-methods
5659 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5664 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5665 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5666 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5667 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5668 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5669 all the files in the top level directory
5670 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5671 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5672 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5673 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5675 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5676 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5677 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5678 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5679 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5682 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5686 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5687 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5690 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5691 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5692 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5693 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5696 @node Decoding Articles
5697 @section Decoding Articles
5698 @cindex decoding articles
5700 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5701 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5704 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5705 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5706 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5707 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5708 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5709 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5713 @cindex article series
5714 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5715 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5716 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5717 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5718 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5720 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5721 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5722 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5724 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, Gnus
5725 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5726 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5728 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5729 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5730 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5733 @node Uuencoded Articles
5734 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5736 @cindex uuencoded articles
5741 @kindex X u (Summary)
5742 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5743 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5744 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5747 @kindex X U (Summary)
5748 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5749 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5750 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5753 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5754 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5755 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5758 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5759 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5760 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5761 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5765 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5766 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5767 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5768 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5769 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5771 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5772 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5773 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5774 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5777 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5778 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5779 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5780 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5781 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5782 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5786 @node Shell Archives
5787 @subsection Shell Archives
5789 @cindex shell archives
5790 @cindex shared articles
5792 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5793 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5794 some commands to deal with these:
5799 @kindex X s (Summary)
5800 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5801 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5804 @kindex X S (Summary)
5805 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5806 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5809 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5810 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5811 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5814 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5815 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5816 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5817 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5821 @node PostScript Files
5822 @subsection PostScript Files
5828 @kindex X p (Summary)
5829 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5830 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5833 @kindex X P (Summary)
5834 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5835 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5836 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5839 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5840 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5841 View the current PostScript series
5842 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5845 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5846 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5847 View and save the current PostScript series
5848 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5853 @subsection Other Files
5857 @kindex X o (Summary)
5858 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5859 Save the current series
5860 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5863 @kindex X b (Summary)
5864 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5865 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5866 doesn't really work yet.
5870 @node Decoding Variables
5871 @subsection Decoding Variables
5873 Adjective, not verb.
5876 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5877 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5878 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5882 @node Rule Variables
5883 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5884 @cindex rule variables
5886 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5887 variables are of the form
5890 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5897 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5898 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5900 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5901 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5904 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5905 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5908 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5909 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5910 This variable is consulted if Gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5911 user and default view rules.
5913 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5914 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5915 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5920 @node Other Decode Variables
5921 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5924 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5926 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5927 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5928 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5929 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5930 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5934 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5935 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5938 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5939 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5940 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5943 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5944 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5945 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5946 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5947 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5950 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5951 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5952 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5954 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5955 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5956 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5957 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5958 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5961 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5962 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5963 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5965 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5966 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5967 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5968 looking for files to display.
5970 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5971 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5972 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5975 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5976 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5977 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5980 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5981 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5982 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5985 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5986 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5987 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5990 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5991 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5992 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5993 decoded articles as unread.
5995 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5996 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5997 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5998 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6000 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6001 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6002 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6004 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6005 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6007 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6008 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6009 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6010 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6012 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6013 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6014 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6015 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6016 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6017 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
6018 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6019 simply dropped them.
6024 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6025 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6029 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6030 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6031 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6032 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6033 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6034 for you when you post the article.
6036 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6037 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6038 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6039 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6041 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6042 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6043 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6044 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6045 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6046 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6047 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6049 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6050 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6051 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6052 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6053 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6054 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6055 Default is @code{t}.
6061 @subsection Viewing Files
6062 @cindex viewing files
6063 @cindex pseudo-articles
6065 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, Gnus will attempt
6066 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6067 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6068 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, Gnus will
6069 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6070 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6071 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6073 Finally, Gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6074 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6075 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6076 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6078 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6079 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6080 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6082 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6083 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6084 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6085 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6086 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6088 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6089 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6090 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6091 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6092 a list of parameters to that command.
6094 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6095 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6096 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6098 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6099 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6100 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6103 @node Article Treatment
6104 @section Article Treatment
6106 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6107 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6108 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6109 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6110 these articles easier.
6113 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6114 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6115 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6116 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6117 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6118 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6119 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6123 @node Article Highlighting
6124 @subsection Article Highlighting
6125 @cindex highlighting
6127 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6128 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6133 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6134 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6135 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6136 Do much highlighting of the current article
6137 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6138 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6140 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6141 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6142 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6143 signature and adds buttons.
6146 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6147 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6148 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6149 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6150 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6151 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6152 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6153 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6154 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6155 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6156 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6159 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6160 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6161 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6163 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6166 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6168 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6169 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6170 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6172 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6173 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6174 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6176 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6177 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6178 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6180 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6181 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6182 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6183 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6184 Gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6185 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6187 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6188 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6189 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6191 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6192 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6193 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6195 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6196 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6197 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6198 that it's a citation.
6200 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6201 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6202 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6204 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6205 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6206 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6208 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6209 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6210 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6211 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6217 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6218 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6219 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6220 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6221 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6222 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6223 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6224 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6229 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6232 @node Article Fontisizing
6233 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6235 @cindex article emphasis
6237 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6238 @kindex W e (Summary)
6239 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6240 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6241 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6242 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6244 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6245 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6246 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6247 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6248 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6249 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6250 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6251 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6255 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6256 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6257 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6260 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6261 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6262 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6263 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6264 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6265 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6266 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6267 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6268 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6269 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6270 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6271 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6272 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6274 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6275 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6276 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6280 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6283 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6286 @node Article Hiding
6287 @subsection Article Hiding
6288 @cindex article hiding
6290 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6291 too much cruft in most articles.
6296 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6297 @findex gnus-article-hide
6298 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6299 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6300 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6303 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6304 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6305 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6309 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6310 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6311 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6312 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6315 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6316 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6317 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6321 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6322 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6323 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6324 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6325 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6326 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
6327 articles that have signatures in them do:
6329 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
6331 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp)
6333 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
6334 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
6336 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6339 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
6344 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6345 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6346 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6347 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6350 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6351 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6352 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6353 customizing the hiding:
6357 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6358 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6359 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6360 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6361 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6362 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6363 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6368 Starting point of the hidden text.
6370 Ending point of the hidden text.
6372 Number of characters in the hidden region.
6374 Number of lines of hidden text.
6377 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6378 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6379 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6384 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6385 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6387 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6388 following two variables:
6391 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6392 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6393 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6394 50), hide the cited text.
6396 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6397 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6398 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6403 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6404 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6405 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6406 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6407 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6408 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6412 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6413 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6414 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6416 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6417 citation customization.
6419 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6423 @node Article Washing
6424 @subsection Article Washing
6426 @cindex article washing
6428 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6429 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6431 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6432 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6438 @kindex W l (Summary)
6439 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6440 Remove page breaks from the current article
6441 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6445 @kindex W r (Summary)
6446 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6447 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6448 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6449 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6450 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6451 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6453 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6454 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6455 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6456 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6459 @kindex W t (Summary)
6460 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6461 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6462 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6465 @kindex W v (Summary)
6466 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6467 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6468 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6471 @kindex W m (Summary)
6472 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6473 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
6474 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6477 @kindex W o (Summary)
6478 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6479 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6482 @kindex W d (Summary)
6483 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6484 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
6486 @cindex M******** sm*rtq**t*s
6488 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s according to
6489 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
6490 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6493 @kindex W w (Summary)
6494 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6495 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6496 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6497 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6499 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6503 @kindex W c (Summary)
6504 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6505 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6506 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6509 @kindex W q (Summary)
6510 @findex gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable
6511 Treat quoted-printable (@code{gnus-article-de-quoted-unreadable}).
6512 Quoted-Printable is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending
6513 non-ASCII (i. e., 8-bit) articles. It typically makes strings like
6514 @samp{déjà vu} look like @samp{d=E9j=E0 vu}, which doesn't look very
6518 @kindex W f (Summary)
6520 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6521 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6522 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6523 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6529 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6530 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6531 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6532 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6533 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6534 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6535 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6536 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6537 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6538 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6539 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6540 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6541 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6542 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6546 @kindex W b (Summary)
6547 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6548 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6549 @xref{Article Buttons}.
6552 @kindex W B (Summary)
6553 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6554 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6555 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6558 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6559 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6560 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6561 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6564 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6565 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6566 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6567 lines with a single empty line.
6568 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6571 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6572 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6573 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6574 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6577 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6578 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6579 Do all the three commands above
6580 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6583 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6584 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6585 Remove all blank lines
6586 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6589 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6590 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6591 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6592 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6596 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6599 @node Article Buttons
6600 @subsection Article Buttons
6603 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6604 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6605 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6606 button on these references.
6608 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6609 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6610 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6615 @item gnus-button-alist
6616 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6617 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6620 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6626 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6627 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6628 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6631 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6632 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6633 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6636 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6637 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6638 avoid false matches.
6641 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6644 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6645 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6649 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6652 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6655 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6656 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6657 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6658 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6659 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6662 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6665 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6667 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6668 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6669 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6670 default values of the variables above.
6672 @item gnus-article-button-face
6673 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6674 Face used on buttons.
6676 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6677 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6678 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6682 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6686 @subsection Article Date
6688 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6689 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6690 when the article was sent.
6695 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6696 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6697 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6698 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6701 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6702 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6704 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6705 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6708 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6709 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6710 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6713 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6714 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6715 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6716 @findex format-time-string
6717 Display the date using a user-defined format
6718 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6719 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6720 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6721 for a list of possible format specs.
6724 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6725 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6726 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6727 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6728 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6729 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6730 updated continually, you can put
6733 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6736 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6737 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6741 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6742 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6743 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6744 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6745 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6746 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6747 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6751 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6752 preferred format automatically.
6755 @node Article Signature
6756 @subsection Article Signature
6758 @cindex article signature
6760 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6761 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6762 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6763 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6764 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6765 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6766 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6767 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6768 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6771 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6772 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6773 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6774 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6775 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6776 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6777 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6778 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6781 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6784 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6785 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6790 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6793 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6796 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6797 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6799 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6800 in question is not a signature.
6803 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6804 listed above. Here's an example:
6807 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6808 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6811 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6812 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6813 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6814 signature after all.
6818 @section MIME Commands
6819 @cindex MIME decoding
6823 @kindex W M w (Summary)
6824 Decode RFC2047-encoded words in the article headers
6825 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
6828 @kindex W M c (Summary)
6829 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
6830 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
6832 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
6833 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
6834 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
6835 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
6836 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
6837 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
6840 @kindex W M v (Summary)
6841 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
6842 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
6847 @node Article Commands
6848 @section Article Commands
6855 @kindex A P (Summary)
6856 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6857 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6858 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6859 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6860 run just before printing the buffer.
6865 @node Summary Sorting
6866 @section Summary Sorting
6867 @cindex summary sorting
6869 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6870 can't really see why you'd want that.
6875 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6876 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6877 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6880 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6881 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6882 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6885 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6886 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6887 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6890 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6891 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6892 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6895 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6896 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6897 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6900 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6901 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6902 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6905 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6906 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6907 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6908 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6909 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6913 @node Finding the Parent
6914 @section Finding the Parent
6915 @cindex parent articles
6916 @cindex referring articles
6921 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6922 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6923 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6924 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6925 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6926 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6927 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6928 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6929 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6931 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6932 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6933 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, Gnus will fetch the parent, the
6934 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6935 @kbd{-3 ^}, Gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6939 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6940 @kindex A R (Summary)
6941 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6942 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6945 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6946 @kindex A T (Summary)
6947 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6948 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6949 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6950 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6951 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6952 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6953 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6955 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6956 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6957 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6958 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6959 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6960 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6963 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6964 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6966 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6967 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6968 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6969 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6970 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6971 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6972 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6975 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6976 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6977 by giving this command a prefix.
6979 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6980 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6981 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6982 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6983 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6984 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6987 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6988 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6989 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6990 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6991 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6992 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6995 @node Alternative Approaches
6996 @section Alternative Approaches
6998 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6999 Gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
7002 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
7003 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
7008 @subsection Pick and Read
7009 @cindex pick and read
7011 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
7012 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
7013 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
7014 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
7016 @findex gnus-pick-mode
7017 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
7018 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
7019 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
7020 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
7021 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
7023 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
7028 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
7029 Pick the article or thread on the current line
7030 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7031 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
7032 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
7033 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
7034 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
7035 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
7038 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
7039 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
7040 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
7041 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
7045 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
7046 Unpick the thread or article
7047 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
7048 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
7049 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
7050 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
7051 the thread or article at that line.
7055 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
7056 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
7057 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
7058 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
7059 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
7060 will still be visible when you are reading.
7064 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
7065 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
7066 which is mapped to the same function
7067 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
7069 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
7072 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
7075 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
7076 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
7078 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
7079 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
7080 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
7082 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
7083 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
7084 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
7085 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
7086 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
7087 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
7088 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
7092 @subsection Binary Groups
7093 @cindex binary groups
7095 @findex gnus-binary-mode
7096 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
7097 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
7098 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
7099 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
7100 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
7101 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
7104 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
7105 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
7106 command, when you have turned on this mode
7107 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7109 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7110 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7114 @section Tree Display
7117 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7118 If you don't like the normal Gnus summary display, you might try setting
7119 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7120 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7123 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7126 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7127 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7128 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7130 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7131 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7132 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7133 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7134 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7136 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7137 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7138 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7139 default is @code{modeline}.
7141 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7142 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7143 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7144 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7145 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7146 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7147 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7153 The name of the poster.
7155 The @code{From} header.
7157 The number of the article.
7159 The opening bracket.
7161 The closing bracket.
7166 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7168 Variables related to the display are:
7171 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7172 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7173 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7174 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7175 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7176 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7178 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7179 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7180 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7181 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7185 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7186 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7187 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will try to keep the tree
7188 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other Gnus
7189 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7190 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7191 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7192 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7193 other windows displayed next to it.
7195 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7196 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7197 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7198 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7199 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7200 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7201 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7205 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7208 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7218 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7222 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7223 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7225 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7227 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7232 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7233 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7234 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7237 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7238 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7239 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7240 (gnus-add-configuration
7244 (summary 0.75 point)
7249 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7252 @node Mail Group Commands
7253 @section Mail Group Commands
7254 @cindex mail group commands
7256 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7257 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7259 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7260 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7265 @kindex B e (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7267 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7268 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7271 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7272 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7273 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7274 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7275 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7276 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7279 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7280 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7281 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7282 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7283 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7284 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7287 @kindex B m (Summary)
7289 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7290 Move the article from one mail group to another
7291 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7294 @kindex B c (Summary)
7296 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7297 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7298 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7299 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7302 @kindex B B (Summary)
7303 @cindex crosspost mail
7304 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7305 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7306 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7307 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7308 be properly updated.
7311 @kindex B i (Summary)
7312 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7313 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7314 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7315 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7318 @kindex B r (Summary)
7319 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7320 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
7321 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7322 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7323 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7327 @kindex B w (Summary)
7329 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7330 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7331 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7332 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7333 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7334 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, Gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7337 @kindex B q (Summary)
7338 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7339 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7340 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7341 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7344 @kindex B t (Summary)
7345 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7346 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7347 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7350 @kindex B p (Summary)
7351 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7352 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7353 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7354 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7355 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7356 article from your news server (or rather, from
7357 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7358 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7359 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7360 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7361 just not have arrived yet.
7365 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7366 @cindex moving articles
7367 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have Gnus
7368 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7369 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7370 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7371 suggestions you find reasonable.
7374 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7375 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7376 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7377 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7381 @node Various Summary Stuff
7382 @section Various Summary Stuff
7385 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7386 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7387 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7388 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7392 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7393 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7394 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7396 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7397 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7398 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7399 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7400 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7401 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7404 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7405 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7406 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7407 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7408 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7410 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7411 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
7412 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
7415 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7416 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7417 When Gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7418 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7419 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7420 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7421 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), Gnus will rename the
7422 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7423 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7424 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7429 @node Summary Group Information
7430 @subsection Summary Group Information
7435 @kindex H f (Summary)
7436 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7437 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7438 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7439 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7440 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7441 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7442 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7443 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7444 be used for fetching the file.
7447 @kindex H d (Summary)
7448 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7449 Give a brief description of the current group
7450 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7451 rereading the description from the server.
7454 @kindex H h (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7456 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7457 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7460 @kindex H i (Summary)
7461 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7462 Go to the Gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7466 @node Searching for Articles
7467 @subsection Searching for Articles
7472 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7473 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7474 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7475 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7478 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7479 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7480 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7481 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7485 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7486 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7487 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7488 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7492 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7493 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7494 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7495 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7498 @node Summary Generation Commands
7499 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7504 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7505 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7506 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7509 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7510 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7511 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7512 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7517 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7518 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7523 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7524 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7525 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7526 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7527 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7528 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7529 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7530 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7531 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7535 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7536 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7537 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7538 several documents into one biiig group
7539 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7540 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7541 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7542 command understands the process/prefix convention
7543 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7546 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7547 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7548 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7549 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7550 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7551 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7555 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7556 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7557 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7560 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7561 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7562 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7563 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7568 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7569 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7570 @cindex summary exit
7571 @cindex exiting groups
7573 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7574 group and return you to the group buffer.
7580 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7582 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7583 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7584 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7585 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7586 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7587 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7588 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7589 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7590 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7591 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7592 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7596 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7598 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7599 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7600 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7604 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7606 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7607 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7608 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7609 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7612 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7613 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7614 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7615 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7618 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7619 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7620 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7621 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7624 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7625 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7626 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7627 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7628 all articles, both read and unread.
7632 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7633 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7634 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7635 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7636 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7637 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7638 articles, both read and unread.
7641 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7642 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7643 Exit the group and go to the next group
7644 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7647 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7648 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7649 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7650 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7653 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7654 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7655 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7656 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7657 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7658 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7661 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7662 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7665 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7666 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7667 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7668 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7669 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7670 If you do that, Gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7671 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7672 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7673 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7674 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7675 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7676 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7678 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7680 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7681 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7682 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7683 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7684 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7685 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7686 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7687 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7688 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7691 @node Crosspost Handling
7692 @section Crosspost Handling
7696 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7697 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7698 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7699 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7700 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7701 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7704 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7705 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7706 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7707 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7708 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7710 @cindex cross-posting
7713 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7714 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7715 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7716 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7717 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7718 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7719 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7720 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7721 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7722 the cross reference mechanism.
7724 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7725 @cindex overview.fmt
7726 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7727 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7728 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7729 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7730 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7731 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7734 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7735 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7736 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7741 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7744 @node Duplicate Suppression
7745 @section Duplicate Suppression
7747 By default, Gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7748 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7749 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7750 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
7755 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7756 is evil and not very common.
7759 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7760 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7763 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7764 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7767 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7770 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7771 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7773 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7774 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7775 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7776 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7777 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7778 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7779 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7782 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7783 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7784 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7785 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7786 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7790 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7791 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7792 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7794 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7795 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7796 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7797 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7798 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single Gnus
7799 session are suppressed.
7801 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7802 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7803 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7804 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7806 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7807 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7808 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7809 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7812 If you have a tendency to stop and start Gnus often, setting
7813 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7814 you leave Gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7815 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7816 so that means that if you stop and start Gnus often, you should set
7817 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7818 to you to figure out, I think.
7821 @node The Article Buffer
7822 @chapter The Article Buffer
7823 @cindex article buffer
7825 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7826 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7827 tell Gnus otherwise.
7830 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7831 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
7832 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7833 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7834 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7838 @node Hiding Headers
7839 @section Hiding Headers
7840 @cindex hiding headers
7841 @cindex deleting headers
7843 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7844 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7846 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7847 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7848 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7849 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7850 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7851 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7852 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7853 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7854 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7856 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7860 @item gnus-visible-headers
7861 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7862 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7863 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7864 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7866 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7867 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7870 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7873 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7876 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7877 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7878 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7879 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7880 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7881 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7883 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} line
7884 and the @code{Xref} line, you might say:
7887 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7890 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7893 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7894 variable will have no effect.
7898 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7899 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7900 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7901 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7902 the headers are to be displayed.
7904 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7905 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7908 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7911 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7912 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
7914 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7915 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7916 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7917 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7918 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7919 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7920 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7921 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7922 @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove from sight.
7924 These conditions are:
7927 Remove all empty headers.
7929 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7930 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7932 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7935 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7938 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7941 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7943 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7946 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
7949 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7950 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
7953 This is also the default value for this variable.
7957 @section Using @sc{mime}
7960 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7961 while people stand around yawning.
7963 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7964 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7966 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7967 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7968 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7970 @vindex gnus-display-mime-function
7971 @findex gnus-display-mime
7972 Gnus pushes @sc{mime} articles through @code{gnus-display-mime-function}
7973 to display the @sc{mime} parts. This is @code{gnus-display-mime} by
7974 default, which creates a bundle of clickable buttons that can be used to
7975 display, save and manipulate the @sc{mime} objects.
7977 The following commands are available when you have placed point over a
7981 @findex gnus-article-press-button
7983 @itemx BUTTON-2 (Article)
7984 Toggle displaying of the @sc{mime} object
7985 (@code{gnus-article-press-button}).
7987 @findex gnus-mime-view-part
7988 @item M-RET (Article)
7990 Prompt for a method, and then view the @sc{mime} object using this
7991 method (@code{gnus-mime-view-part}).
7993 @findex gnus-mime-save-part
7995 Prompt for a file name, and then save the @sc{mime} object
7996 (@code{gnus-mime-save-part}).
7998 @findex gnus-mime-copy-part
8000 Copy the @sc{mime} object to a fresh buffer and display this buffer
8001 (@code{gnus-mime-copy-part}).
8003 @findex gnus-mime-pipe-part
8005 Output the @sc{mime} object to a process (@code{gnus-mime-pipe-part}).
8008 Gnus will display some @sc{mime} objects automatically. The way Gnus
8009 determines which parts to do this with is described in the Emacs MIME
8012 It might be best to just use the toggling functions from the article
8013 buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance, you enter the
8014 group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it, @sc{mime} has
8015 decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible sing-a-long song
8016 comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find the volume button,
8017 because there isn't one, and people are starting to look at you, and you
8018 try to stop the program, but you can't, and you can't find the program
8019 to control the volume, and everybody else in the room suddenly decides
8020 to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel rather stupid.)
8022 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
8025 @node Customizing Articles
8026 @section Customizing Articles
8027 @cindex article customization
8029 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8030 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
8031 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
8032 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
8034 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
8035 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
8036 By default this hook just contains
8037 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
8038 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
8039 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
8040 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
8041 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
8042 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
8043 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
8044 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
8045 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
8047 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
8048 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
8049 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
8050 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
8051 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
8054 @node Article Keymap
8055 @section Article Keymap
8057 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
8058 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
8059 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
8060 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
8063 A few additional keystrokes are available:
8068 @kindex SPACE (Article)
8069 @findex gnus-article-next-page
8070 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
8073 @kindex DEL (Article)
8074 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
8075 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
8078 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
8079 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
8080 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
8081 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
8082 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
8085 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
8086 @findex gnus-article-mail
8087 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
8088 given a prefix, include the mail.
8092 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
8093 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
8094 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
8098 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
8099 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
8100 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
8103 @kindex TAB (Article)
8104 @findex gnus-article-next-button
8105 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
8106 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
8109 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
8110 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
8111 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
8117 @section Misc Article
8121 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
8122 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
8123 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
8124 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
8127 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
8128 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
8130 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
8131 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
8133 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
8134 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
8135 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
8136 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
8137 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8138 the contents of the article buffer.
8140 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8141 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8142 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8143 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8144 hiding headers, and the like.
8146 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8147 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8148 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8150 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8151 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8152 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8153 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8155 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8156 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8157 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8158 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8159 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8164 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8165 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8169 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8171 @item gnus-break-pages
8172 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8173 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8174 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8175 paging will not be done.
8177 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8178 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8179 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8184 @node Composing Messages
8185 @chapter Composing Messages
8186 @cindex composing messages
8189 @cindex sending mail
8194 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8195 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8196 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8197 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8198 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8199 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8200 to make Gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8203 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8204 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8205 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8206 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8207 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8208 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8209 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8210 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8213 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8214 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8220 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8223 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8224 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8225 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8226 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8228 @item gnus-add-to-list
8229 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8230 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8231 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8239 Variables for composing news articles:
8242 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8243 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8244 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8245 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8246 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8247 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8248 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8249 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8250 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want Gnus to keep a history
8253 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8254 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8255 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8256 file. It is 1000 by default.
8261 @node Posting Server
8262 @section Posting Server
8264 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8265 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8267 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8269 @vindex gnus-post-method
8271 It can be quite complicated. Normally, Gnus will use the same native
8272 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8273 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8274 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8275 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8278 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8281 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8282 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8283 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8284 the ``current'' server for posting.
8286 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8287 Gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8289 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8290 If that's the case, Gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8293 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8294 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8295 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8300 @section Mail and Post
8302 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8306 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8307 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8308 @cindex mailing lists
8310 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8311 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8312 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8313 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8314 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8315 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8316 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8317 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8318 still a pain, though.
8322 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8323 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8324 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8327 @findex ispell-message
8329 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8333 @node Archived Messages
8334 @section Archived Messages
8335 @cindex archived messages
8336 @cindex sent messages
8338 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8339 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8340 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8341 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8344 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8345 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server Gnus is to
8346 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8350 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8351 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8352 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8353 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8356 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8357 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8358 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8359 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8362 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8363 '(nnfolder "archive"
8364 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8365 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8366 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8369 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8371 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8372 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8373 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8375 This variable can be used to do the following:
8379 Messages will be saved in that group.
8380 @item a list of strings
8381 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8382 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8383 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8385 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8390 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8392 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8395 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8397 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8400 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8402 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8403 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8404 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8405 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8410 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8411 '((if (message-news-p)
8416 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8417 messages in one file per month:
8420 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8421 '((if (message-news-p)
8423 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8424 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8427 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8428 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8430 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8431 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8432 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8433 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8434 Gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8435 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8436 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8437 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8438 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8439 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8441 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8442 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8443 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8444 this will disable archiving.
8447 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8448 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8449 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8450 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8451 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8454 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8455 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8456 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8459 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8460 but the latter is the preferred method.
8464 @node Posting Styles
8465 @section Posting Styles
8466 @cindex posting styles
8469 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8471 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8472 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8473 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8476 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8477 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8478 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8479 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8480 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8485 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8486 (organization "What me?"))
8488 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8489 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8490 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8493 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8494 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8495 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8496 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8497 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8498 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8499 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8500 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8502 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8503 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8504 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8505 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8506 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8507 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8510 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8511 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8512 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8513 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
8514 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
8515 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
8518 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8519 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8520 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8522 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
8523 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
8524 of the two dynamically bound variables @code{message-this-is-news} and
8525 @code{message-this-is-mail}.
8527 @vindex message-this-is-mail
8528 @vindex message-this-is-news
8530 So here's a new example:
8533 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8535 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8537 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8538 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8540 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8541 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8542 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8543 (message-this-is-news
8544 (signature my-news-signature))
8545 (posting-from-work-p
8546 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8547 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8548 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
8549 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8551 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8559 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8560 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8561 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8562 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8563 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8565 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8566 some sort using the Gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8567 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8568 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8569 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8573 @vindex nndraft-directory
8574 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8575 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8576 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8577 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8578 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8579 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8581 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8582 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8585 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8586 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8587 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8588 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8589 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8590 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8591 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8592 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8593 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8594 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8595 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8596 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8597 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8598 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8600 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8601 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8602 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8604 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8606 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8607 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8608 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8610 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8613 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8614 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8615 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8616 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8617 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8618 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8619 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8622 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8623 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8624 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8627 @node Rejected Articles
8628 @section Rejected Articles
8629 @cindex rejected articles
8631 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8632 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8633 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8634 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8636 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of Gnus.
8637 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8638 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8639 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So Gnus saves these
8640 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8642 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8643 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8644 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8647 @node Select Methods
8648 @chapter Select Methods
8649 @cindex foreign groups
8650 @cindex select methods
8652 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8653 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8654 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8655 personal mail group.
8657 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8658 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8659 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8660 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8661 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8662 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8664 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8665 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8667 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8670 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8671 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8672 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8673 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8674 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8676 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8679 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8680 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8681 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8682 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8683 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8684 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8688 @node The Server Buffer
8689 @section The Server Buffer
8691 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8692 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8693 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8694 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8695 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8696 backend represents a virtual server.
8698 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8699 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8700 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8701 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8703 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8704 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8705 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8706 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8707 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8708 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8709 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8711 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8712 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8715 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8716 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8717 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8718 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8719 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8720 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8721 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8724 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8725 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8728 @node Server Buffer Format
8729 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8730 @cindex server buffer format
8732 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8733 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8734 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8735 variable, with some simple extensions:
8740 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8743 The name of this server.
8746 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8749 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8752 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8753 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8754 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8755 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8765 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8768 @node Server Commands
8769 @subsection Server Commands
8770 @cindex server commands
8776 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8777 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8781 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8782 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8785 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8786 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8787 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8791 @findex gnus-server-exit
8792 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8796 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8797 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8801 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8802 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8806 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8807 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8811 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8812 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8816 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8817 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8818 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8823 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8824 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8825 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8826 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8831 @node Example Methods
8832 @subsection Example Methods
8834 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8837 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8840 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8846 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8847 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8850 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8851 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8853 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8854 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8858 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8861 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8862 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8864 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8865 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8866 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8870 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8873 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8876 Here's the method for a public spool:
8880 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8881 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8884 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8885 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8886 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8887 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8888 should probably look something like this:
8892 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8893 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8894 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8895 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8896 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8899 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8900 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8901 server that would look something like this:
8905 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8906 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8907 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8908 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8909 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8910 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8913 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8914 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8915 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8916 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8919 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8920 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8922 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8923 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8925 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8926 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8927 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8929 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8931 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8932 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8933 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8934 will contain the following:
8944 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8945 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8946 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8949 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8950 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8951 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8954 @node Server Variables
8955 @subsection Server Variables
8957 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8958 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8959 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8960 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8961 won't change the "derived" variables.
8963 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8964 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8965 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8966 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8967 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8968 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8969 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8970 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8971 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8975 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8976 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8977 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8981 @node Servers and Methods
8982 @subsection Servers and Methods
8984 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8985 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8986 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8987 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8991 @node Unavailable Servers
8992 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8994 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8995 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8996 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8997 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8998 actually the case or not.
9000 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
9001 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
9002 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
9003 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
9004 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
9005 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
9006 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
9007 it will regard that server as ``down''.
9009 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
9010 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
9012 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
9013 with the following commands:
9019 @findex gnus-server-open-server
9020 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
9021 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
9025 @findex gnus-server-close-server
9026 Close the connection (if any) to the server
9027 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
9031 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
9032 Mark the current server as unreachable
9033 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
9036 @kindex M-o (Server)
9037 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
9038 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
9039 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
9042 @kindex M-c (Server)
9043 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
9044 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
9045 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
9049 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
9050 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
9051 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
9057 @section Getting News
9058 @cindex reading news
9059 @cindex news backends
9061 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
9062 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
9063 or it can read from a local spool.
9066 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
9067 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
9072 @subsection @sc{nntp}
9075 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
9076 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
9077 server as the, uhm, address.
9079 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
9080 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
9081 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
9082 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9084 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
9085 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
9086 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
9088 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
9093 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
9094 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
9095 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
9097 @cindex authentification
9098 @cindex nntp authentification
9099 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9100 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
9101 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
9102 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
9103 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
9104 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
9105 present in this hook.
9107 @item nntp-authinfo-function
9108 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
9109 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
9110 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
9111 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
9112 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
9113 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
9114 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
9115 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
9116 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
9117 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
9118 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
9122 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
9125 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
9126 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
9127 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
9128 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
9129 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
9134 Here's an example file:
9137 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
9138 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
9141 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
9142 have to be first, for instance.
9144 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
9145 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
9146 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
9147 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
9148 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
9149 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9150 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9152 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9153 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9159 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9160 previously mentioned.
9162 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9164 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9165 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9166 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9167 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9168 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9171 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9175 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9177 The default value is
9180 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9181 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9184 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9185 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9187 @item nntp-maximum-request
9188 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9189 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9190 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9191 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9192 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9193 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9194 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9196 @item nntp-connection-timeout
9197 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9198 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9199 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9200 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9201 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9202 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9203 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9204 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9205 no timeouts are done.
9207 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9208 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9209 @c @cindex PPP connections
9210 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9211 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9212 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9213 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9214 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9215 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9216 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9217 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9218 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9219 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9221 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9222 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9223 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9224 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9227 @item nntp-server-hook
9228 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9229 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9232 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9233 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9234 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9235 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9236 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9237 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9238 functions are supplied:
9241 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9242 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9245 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9246 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9247 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9250 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9254 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9255 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9256 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9257 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9259 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9260 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9261 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9263 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9264 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9265 User name on the remote system.
9269 @item nntp-open-telnet
9270 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9271 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9273 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9276 @item nntp-telnet-command
9277 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9278 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9280 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9281 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9282 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9284 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9285 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9286 User name for log in on the remote system.
9288 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9289 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9290 Password to use when logging in.
9292 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9293 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9294 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9297 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9298 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9299 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9300 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9302 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9303 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9304 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9305 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9306 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9310 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9311 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9312 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9313 you must have SSLay installed
9314 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9315 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9316 define a server as follows:
9319 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9321 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9323 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9324 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9325 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9326 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9331 @item nntp-end-of-line
9332 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9333 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9334 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9335 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9337 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9338 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9339 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9343 @vindex nntp-address
9344 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9346 @item nntp-port-number
9347 @vindex nntp-port-number
9348 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9351 @item nntp-buggy-select
9352 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9353 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9355 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9356 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9357 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9358 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9361 @item nntp-xover-commands
9362 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9365 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9366 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9370 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9371 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9372 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9373 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9374 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9375 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9376 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9377 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9378 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9379 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9380 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9382 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9383 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9384 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9386 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9387 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9388 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9389 server closes connection.
9391 @item nntp-record-commands
9392 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9393 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9394 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9395 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9396 that doesn't seem to work.
9402 @subsection News Spool
9406 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9407 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9408 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9411 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9412 anything else) as the address.
9414 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9415 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9416 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9417 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9421 @item nnspool-inews-program
9422 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9423 Program used to post an article.
9425 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9426 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9427 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9429 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9430 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9431 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9432 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9434 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9435 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9436 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9437 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9439 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9440 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9441 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9443 @item nnspool-active-file
9444 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9445 The path to the active file.
9447 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9448 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9449 The path to the group descriptions file.
9451 @item nnspool-history-file
9452 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9453 The path to the news history file.
9455 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9456 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9457 The path to the active date file.
9459 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9460 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9461 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9464 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9465 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9467 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9468 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9469 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9475 @section Getting Mail
9476 @cindex reading mail
9479 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9483 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9484 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9485 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9486 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9487 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9488 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9489 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9490 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9491 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9492 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9493 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9497 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9498 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9500 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9501 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9502 and things will happen automatically.
9504 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9505 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9508 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9509 '((nnml "private")))
9512 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9513 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9514 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9515 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9516 like any other group.
9518 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9521 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9522 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9523 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9527 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9528 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9529 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9532 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9533 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9534 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9537 @node Splitting Mail
9538 @subsection Splitting Mail
9539 @cindex splitting mail
9540 @cindex mail splitting
9542 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9543 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9544 to be split into groups.
9547 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9548 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9549 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9553 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9554 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9555 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9556 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9557 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9558 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9559 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9562 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9565 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9566 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9567 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9568 mail belongs in that group.
9570 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9571 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9572 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9573 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9574 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9575 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9577 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9578 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9579 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9580 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9581 thinks should carry this mail message.
9583 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9584 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9585 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9586 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9588 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9589 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9590 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9591 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9592 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9594 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9597 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9598 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9599 links. If that's the case for you, set
9600 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9601 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9603 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9604 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9605 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9606 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9608 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9609 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9610 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9611 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9612 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9613 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9614 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9615 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9619 @node Mail Backend Variables
9620 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9622 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9626 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9627 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9628 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9629 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9631 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9632 @item nnmail-spool-file
9636 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9637 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9638 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9639 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9640 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9641 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9642 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9643 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9644 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9645 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9646 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9647 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9648 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9649 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9650 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9652 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9654 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9655 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9658 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9659 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9660 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9661 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9662 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9663 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9665 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9666 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9667 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9668 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9669 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9670 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9671 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9674 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9675 @item nnmail-crash-box
9676 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9677 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9678 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9681 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9682 @item nnmail-split-hook
9683 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
9684 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9685 @findex RFC2047 decoding
9686 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9687 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9688 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9689 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9690 in the buffer will show up in any files.
9691 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
9694 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9695 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9696 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9697 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9698 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9699 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9700 starting to handle the new mail) and
9701 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9702 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9703 default file modes the new mail files get:
9706 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9707 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9709 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9710 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9713 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9714 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9715 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9716 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9717 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9718 it will be used instead.
9720 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9721 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9722 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9723 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9725 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9726 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9729 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9730 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9731 @cindex incoming mail files
9732 @cindex deleting incoming files
9733 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9734 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9737 @c This is @code{nil} by
9738 @c default for reasons of security.
9740 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9741 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9742 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9743 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9744 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9747 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9749 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9750 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9751 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9752 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9753 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9754 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9755 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9757 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9758 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9760 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9762 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9763 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9764 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9765 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9766 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9771 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9772 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9773 @cindex mail splitting
9774 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9776 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9777 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9778 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9779 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9780 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9781 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9783 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9786 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9787 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9788 ;; from real errors.
9789 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9791 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9792 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9793 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9794 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9795 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9796 ;; Other mailing lists...
9797 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9798 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9800 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9801 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9805 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9806 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9807 the five possible split syntaxes:
9812 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9813 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9817 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9818 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9819 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9822 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9823 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9824 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9825 be stored in one or more groups.
9828 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9829 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9832 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9833 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9836 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9837 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9838 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9842 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9846 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9847 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9848 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9849 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9850 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9852 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9853 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9854 are expanded as specified by the variable
9855 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9856 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9859 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9860 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9861 when all this splitting is performed.
9863 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9864 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9865 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9868 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9871 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9872 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
9873 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9874 groupings 1 through 9.
9877 @node Mail and Procmail
9878 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9883 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9884 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9885 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9886 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9887 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9889 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9890 something like the following:
9892 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9894 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9895 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9896 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9899 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9900 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9903 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9904 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9905 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9906 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9907 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9908 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9910 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9913 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9915 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9916 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9918 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9919 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9920 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9921 to include all your mail groups.
9923 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9924 method will be created automatically.
9926 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9927 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9928 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9929 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9930 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9931 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9932 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9933 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9935 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9936 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9937 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9938 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9939 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9941 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9942 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9943 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9944 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9945 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9946 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9948 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9949 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9950 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9951 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9952 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9955 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9956 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9957 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9958 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9959 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9963 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9964 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9966 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9967 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9968 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9971 Doing so can be quite easy.
9973 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9974 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9975 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9976 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9977 your @code{nnml} groups.
9983 Go to the group buffer.
9986 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9987 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9990 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9993 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9994 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9997 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9998 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
10001 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
10002 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
10003 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
10004 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
10005 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
10007 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
10008 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
10009 using the new mail backend.
10012 @node Expiring Mail
10013 @subsection Expiring Mail
10014 @cindex article expiry
10016 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
10017 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
10018 different approach to mail reading.
10020 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
10021 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
10022 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
10023 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
10024 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
10025 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
10028 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
10029 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
10030 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
10031 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
10032 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
10033 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
10034 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
10035 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
10037 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10038 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
10039 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
10040 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
10041 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
10042 column in the summary buffer.
10044 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
10045 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
10046 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
10047 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
10050 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
10052 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
10053 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
10054 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
10057 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
10058 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
10059 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
10060 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
10061 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
10063 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
10064 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
10067 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
10068 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
10071 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
10072 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
10074 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
10075 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
10076 don't really mix very well.
10078 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
10079 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
10080 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
10081 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
10084 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
10085 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
10086 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
10087 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
10090 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10092 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
10094 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
10096 ((string= group "mail.junk")
10098 ((string= group "important")
10104 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
10105 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
10107 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
10108 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
10109 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
10112 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
10113 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
10115 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
10116 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
10117 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
10118 easier for procmail users.
10120 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
10121 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
10122 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
10123 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
10124 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
10125 caution. Even more dangerous is the
10126 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
10127 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
10128 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
10129 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
10130 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
10131 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
10132 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
10135 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
10139 @subsection Washing Mail
10140 @cindex mail washing
10141 @cindex list server brain damage
10142 @cindex incoming mail treatment
10144 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
10145 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
10146 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10147 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10148 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10149 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10151 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10152 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10153 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10156 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10157 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10158 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10159 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10162 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10163 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10164 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10165 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
10166 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
10169 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10170 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10171 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10172 Emacs running on MS machines.
10176 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10177 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10178 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10179 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10182 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10183 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10184 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10185 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10187 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10188 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10189 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10190 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10191 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10192 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10193 also be a list of regexp.
10195 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10196 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10199 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10200 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10203 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10204 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10205 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10209 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10210 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10211 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10215 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10216 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10217 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10224 @subsection Duplicates
10226 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10227 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10228 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10229 @cindex duplicate mails
10230 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10231 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10232 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10233 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10234 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10235 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10236 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10237 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10238 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10239 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10240 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10241 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10242 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10244 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10245 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10246 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10247 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10249 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10252 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10253 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10257 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10258 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10259 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10260 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10261 (any mail "mail.misc")
10268 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10269 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10274 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10275 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10276 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10277 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10278 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10281 @node Not Reading Mail
10282 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10284 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10285 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10286 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10288 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10289 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10291 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10292 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10293 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10294 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10295 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10296 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10297 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10298 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10299 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10300 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10301 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10303 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10304 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10308 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10309 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10311 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10312 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10313 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10316 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10317 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10318 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10319 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10320 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10324 @node Unix Mail Box
10325 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10327 @cindex unix mail box
10329 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10330 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10331 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10332 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10333 which group it belongs in.
10335 Virtual server settings:
10338 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10339 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10340 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10342 @item nnmbox-active-file
10343 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10344 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10346 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10347 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10348 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10354 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10358 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10359 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10360 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10361 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10362 article to say which group it belongs in.
10364 Virtual server settings:
10367 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10368 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10369 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10371 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10372 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10373 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10375 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10376 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10377 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10382 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10384 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10386 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10387 format. It should be used with some caution.
10389 @vindex nnml-directory
10390 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10391 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10392 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10393 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10395 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10398 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10399 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10400 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10401 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10402 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10403 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10404 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10405 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10407 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10408 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10409 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10410 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10412 Virtual server settings:
10415 @item nnml-directory
10416 @vindex nnml-directory
10417 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10419 @item nnml-active-file
10420 @vindex nnml-active-file
10421 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10423 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10424 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10425 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10428 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10429 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10430 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10432 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10433 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10434 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10436 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10437 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10438 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10440 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10441 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10442 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10446 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10447 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10448 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10449 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10450 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10451 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10452 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10457 @subsubsection MH Spool
10459 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10461 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10462 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10463 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10464 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10466 Virtual server settings:
10469 @item nnmh-directory
10470 @vindex nnmh-directory
10471 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10473 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10474 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10475 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10478 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10479 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10480 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10481 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10482 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10483 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10484 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10489 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10491 @cindex mbox folders
10492 @cindex mail folders
10494 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10495 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10496 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10499 Virtual server settings:
10502 @item nnfolder-directory
10503 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10504 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10506 @item nnfolder-active-file
10507 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10508 The name of the active file.
10510 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10511 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10512 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10514 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10515 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10516 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10518 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10519 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
10520 @cindex backup files
10521 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
10522 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
10523 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
10524 your @file{.emacs} file:
10527 (defun turn-off-backup ()
10528 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
10530 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
10533 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10534 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
10535 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
10536 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
10537 extract some information from it before removing it.
10542 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10543 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10544 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10545 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10546 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10547 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10550 @node Other Sources
10551 @section Other Sources
10553 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10554 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10558 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10559 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10560 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10561 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10562 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10563 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10567 @node Directory Groups
10568 @subsection Directory Groups
10570 @cindex directory groups
10572 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10573 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10576 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10577 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10578 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10579 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10581 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10582 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10583 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10584 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10585 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10587 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10589 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10590 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10591 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10592 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10595 @node Anything Groups
10596 @subsection Anything Groups
10599 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10600 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10601 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10604 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10605 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10606 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10607 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10608 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10609 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10610 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10611 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10612 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10613 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10616 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10617 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10618 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10619 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10621 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10622 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10623 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10624 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10626 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10627 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10628 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10629 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10630 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10631 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10632 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10633 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10638 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10639 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10640 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10641 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10643 @item nneething-exclude-files
10644 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10645 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10646 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10648 @item nneething-map-file
10649 @vindex nneething-map-file
10650 Name of the map files.
10654 @node Document Groups
10655 @subsection Document Groups
10657 @cindex documentation group
10660 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10661 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10668 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10673 The standard Unix mbox file.
10675 @cindex MMDF mail box
10677 The MMDF mail box format.
10680 Several news articles appended into a file.
10683 @cindex rnews batch files
10684 The rnews batch transport format.
10685 @cindex forwarded messages
10688 Forwarded articles.
10691 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10695 @cindex MIME digest
10696 @cindex 1153 digest
10697 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10698 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10699 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10701 @item standard-digest
10702 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10705 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10708 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10709 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10710 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10713 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10714 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10715 group. And that's it.
10717 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10718 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10719 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10720 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10721 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10722 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10723 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10724 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10725 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10726 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10728 Virtual server variables:
10731 @item nndoc-article-type
10732 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10733 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10734 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10735 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10736 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10739 @item nndoc-post-type
10740 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10741 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10742 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10747 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10751 @node Document Server Internals
10752 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10754 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10755 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10756 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10757 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10759 First, here's an example document type definition:
10763 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10764 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10767 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10768 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10769 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10770 types can be defined with very few settings:
10773 @item first-article
10774 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10775 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10778 @item article-begin
10779 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10780 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10782 @item head-begin-function
10783 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10786 @item nndoc-head-begin
10787 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10790 @item nndoc-head-end
10791 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10792 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10794 @item body-begin-function
10795 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10799 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10802 @item body-end-function
10803 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10807 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10810 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10811 regexp will be totally ignored.
10815 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10816 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10817 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10818 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10819 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10822 @item prepare-body-function
10823 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10824 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10825 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10827 @item article-transform-function
10828 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10829 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10830 body of the article.
10832 @item generate-head-function
10833 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10834 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10835 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10836 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10840 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10845 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10846 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10847 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10848 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10849 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10850 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10851 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10852 (subtype digest guess))
10855 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10856 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10857 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10858 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10859 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10861 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10862 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10863 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10864 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10865 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
10866 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10867 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10868 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10869 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10870 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10878 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10879 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10880 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10882 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10883 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10884 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10887 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10888 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10889 that interested in doing things properly.
10891 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10892 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10895 First some terminology:
10900 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10901 get news and/or mail from.
10904 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10905 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10908 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10912 @item message packets
10913 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10914 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10915 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10917 @item response packets
10918 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10919 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10920 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10930 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10931 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10932 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10933 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10936 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10939 You put the packet in your home directory.
10942 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10943 the native or secondary server.
10946 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10947 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10950 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10954 You transfer this packet to the server.
10957 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10960 You then repeat until you die.
10964 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10965 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10968 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10969 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10970 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10974 @node SOUP Commands
10975 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10977 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10981 @kindex G s b (Group)
10982 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10983 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10984 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10985 process/prefix convention.
10988 @kindex G s w (Group)
10989 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10990 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10993 @kindex G s s (Group)
10994 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10995 Send all replies from the replies packet
10996 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10999 @kindex G s p (Group)
11000 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
11001 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
11004 @kindex G s r (Group)
11005 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
11006 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
11009 @kindex O s (Summary)
11010 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
11011 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
11012 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
11013 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
11018 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
11023 @item gnus-soup-directory
11024 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
11025 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
11026 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
11028 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
11029 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
11030 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
11031 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
11033 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
11034 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
11035 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
11036 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
11038 @item gnus-soup-packer
11039 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
11040 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11041 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
11043 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
11044 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
11045 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
11046 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11048 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
11049 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
11050 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
11052 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11053 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
11054 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
11055 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
11061 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
11064 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
11065 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
11066 you can read them at leisure.
11068 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
11072 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
11073 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
11074 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
11075 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
11077 @item nnsoup-directory
11078 @vindex nnsoup-directory
11079 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
11080 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
11082 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
11083 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
11084 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
11085 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
11087 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
11088 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
11089 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
11090 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
11091 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
11093 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
11094 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
11095 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
11096 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
11098 @item nnsoup-active-file
11099 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
11100 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
11101 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
11102 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
11103 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
11105 @item nnsoup-packer
11106 @vindex nnsoup-packer
11107 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
11108 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
11110 @item nnsoup-unpacker
11111 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
11112 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
11113 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
11115 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
11116 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
11117 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
11120 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
11121 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
11122 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
11125 @item nnsoup-always-save
11126 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
11127 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
11133 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
11135 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
11136 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
11137 more for that to happen.
11139 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
11140 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
11141 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
11144 In specific, this is what it does:
11147 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
11148 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
11151 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
11152 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
11153 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
11157 @subsection Web Searches
11161 @cindex InReference
11162 @cindex Usenet searches
11163 @cindex searching the Usenet
11165 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
11166 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
11167 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
11168 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
11169 searches without having to use a browser.
11171 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11172 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11173 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11174 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11175 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11177 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11178 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11179 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11180 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11181 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11182 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11183 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11184 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11185 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11186 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11189 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11190 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11191 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
11192 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11193 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11194 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11196 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11197 to use @code{nnweb}.
11199 Virtual server variables:
11204 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11205 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11209 @vindex nnweb-search
11210 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11212 @item nnweb-max-hits
11213 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11214 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11217 @item nnweb-type-definition
11218 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11219 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11220 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11225 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11229 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11232 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11235 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11239 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11246 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11247 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11248 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11251 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11252 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11253 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11255 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11261 @item nngateway-address
11262 @vindex nngateway-address
11263 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11265 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11266 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11267 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11268 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11269 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11270 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11271 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11274 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11275 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11276 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11279 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11282 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11285 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11288 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11290 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11293 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11294 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11295 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11297 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11299 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11300 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11301 @code{nngateway-address}.
11306 (setq gnus-post-method
11307 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11308 (nngateway-header-transformation
11309 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11317 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11320 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11324 @node Combined Groups
11325 @section Combined Groups
11327 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11331 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11332 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11336 @node Virtual Groups
11337 @subsection Virtual Groups
11339 @cindex virtual groups
11340 @cindex merging groups
11342 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11345 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11346 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11347 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11349 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11350 regexp to match component groups.
11352 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11353 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11354 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11355 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11356 the virtual group.)
11358 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11359 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11362 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11365 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11366 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11368 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11369 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11370 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11371 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11374 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11377 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11378 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11379 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11381 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11382 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11383 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11384 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11385 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11387 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11388 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11389 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11391 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11392 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11393 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11394 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11395 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11396 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11397 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11398 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11399 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11400 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11401 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11403 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
11404 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
11405 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
11406 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
11407 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
11408 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
11409 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
11411 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
11412 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
11416 @node Kibozed Groups
11417 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11421 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11422 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11423 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11424 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11426 @kindex G k (Group)
11427 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11430 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11431 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11432 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11433 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11435 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11436 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11437 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11439 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11440 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11441 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11442 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11443 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11444 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11445 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11446 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11448 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11449 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11450 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11451 Stranger things have happened.
11453 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11454 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11456 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11457 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11458 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11459 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11460 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11461 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11463 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11464 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11467 @node Gnus Unplugged
11468 @section Gnus Unplugged
11473 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11475 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11476 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11477 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11478 read news. Believe it or not.
11480 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11481 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11482 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11483 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11484 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11486 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11487 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11488 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11489 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11490 reading news on a machine.
11492 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11496 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11497 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11501 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11502 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11509 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11511 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11514 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11515 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11516 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11517 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11518 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11519 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11520 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11521 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11522 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
11527 @subsection Agent Basics
11529 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11531 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11532 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11533 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11534 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11536 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11537 connected to the net continuously.
11539 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11540 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11542 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11547 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11548 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11549 already fetched while in this mode.
11552 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11553 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11554 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11557 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11558 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11559 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11560 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11563 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11564 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11565 then you read the news offline.
11568 And then you go to step 2.
11571 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11577 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11578 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11579 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11580 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11581 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11582 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11585 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
11592 @node Agent Categories
11593 @subsection Agent Categories
11595 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11596 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11597 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11598 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11599 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11600 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11601 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11603 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11604 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11605 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11608 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11609 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11610 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11614 @node Category Syntax
11615 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11617 A category consists of two things.
11621 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11622 are eligible for downloading; and
11625 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11626 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11627 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
11630 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
11631 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
11632 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
11633 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
11635 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
11636 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
11637 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as descibed below.
11639 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
11640 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
11641 operators sprinkled in between.
11643 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11645 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11646 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11652 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11653 short (for some value of ``short'').
11655 Here's a more complex predicate:
11664 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11665 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11668 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11669 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11670 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11672 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11673 you want to do, you can write your own.
11677 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11678 lines; default 100.
11681 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11682 lines; default 200.
11685 True iff the article has a download score less than
11686 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11689 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11690 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11693 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11694 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11695 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11704 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11705 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11706 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11709 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
11710 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
11711 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
11712 something along the lines of the following:
11715 (defun my-article-old-p ()
11716 "Say whether an article is old."
11717 (< (time-to-day (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
11718 (- (time-to-day (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
11721 with the predicate then defined as:
11724 (not my-article-old-p)
11727 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
11728 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
11729 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
11730 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
11733 (defvar gnus-category-predicate-alist
11734 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
11735 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
11738 and simply specify your predicate as:
11744 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
11745 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
11746 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
11747 just don't give a damm.
11750 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
11751 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
11752 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
11753 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
11754 parameters like so:
11757 (agent-predicate . short)
11760 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category
11761 default. Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this,
11762 the @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair
11765 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
11768 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
11771 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
11772 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
11773 predicate is assumed to be a list.
11776 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11777 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11778 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11779 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
11780 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
11781 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
11783 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
11784 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
11785 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
11786 if it's to be specific to that group.
11788 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
11795 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
11796 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
11802 Category specification
11806 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11812 Group Parameter specification
11815 (agent-score ("from"
11816 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
11821 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
11827 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
11834 Category specification
11837 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
11843 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
11847 Group Parameter specification
11850 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
11853 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
11858 Use @code{normal} score files
11860 If you dont want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
11861 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
11862 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
11863 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
11865 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
11866 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
11867 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
11868 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
11872 Category Specification
11879 Group Parameter specification
11882 (agent-score . file)
11887 @node The Category Buffer
11888 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11890 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11891 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11892 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11894 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11898 @kindex q (Category)
11899 @findex gnus-category-exit
11900 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11903 @kindex k (Category)
11904 @findex gnus-category-kill
11905 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11908 @kindex c (Category)
11909 @findex gnus-category-copy
11910 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11913 @kindex a (Category)
11914 @findex gnus-category-add
11915 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11918 @kindex p (Category)
11919 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11920 Edit the predicate of the current category
11921 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11924 @kindex g (Category)
11925 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11926 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11927 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11930 @kindex s (Category)
11931 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11932 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11933 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11936 @kindex l (Category)
11937 @findex gnus-category-list
11938 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11942 @node Category Variables
11943 @subsubsection Category Variables
11946 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11947 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11948 Hook run in category buffers.
11950 @item gnus-category-line-format
11951 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11952 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11953 Variables}). Valid elements are:
11957 The name of the category.
11960 The number of groups in the category.
11963 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11964 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11965 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11967 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11968 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11969 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11971 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11972 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11973 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11975 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11976 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11977 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11980 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11981 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11982 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11988 @node Agent Commands
11989 @subsection Agent Commands
11991 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11992 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11993 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11997 * Group Agent Commands::
11998 * Summary Agent Commands::
11999 * Server Agent Commands::
12002 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
12003 following incantation:
12005 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12007 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
12012 @node Group Agent Commands
12013 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
12017 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
12018 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
12019 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
12020 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
12023 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
12024 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
12025 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
12028 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
12029 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
12030 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
12031 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
12034 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
12035 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
12036 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
12037 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}.
12040 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
12041 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
12042 Add the current group to an Agent category
12043 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
12048 @node Summary Agent Commands
12049 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
12053 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
12054 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
12055 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
12058 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
12059 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
12060 Remove the downloading mark from the article
12061 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
12064 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
12065 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
12066 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
12069 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
12070 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
12071 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
12076 @node Server Agent Commands
12077 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
12081 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
12082 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
12083 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
12084 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
12087 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
12088 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
12089 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
12090 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
12096 @subsection Agent Expiry
12098 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
12099 @findex gnus-agent-expire
12100 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
12101 @cindex Agent expiry
12102 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
12105 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
12106 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
12107 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
12108 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
12109 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
12110 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
12112 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
12113 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
12114 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
12115 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
12116 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
12119 @node Outgoing Messages
12120 @subsection Outgoing Messages
12122 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
12123 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
12124 after posting, and edit them at will.
12126 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
12127 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
12128 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
12129 messages in the draft group.
12133 @node Agent Variables
12134 @subsection Agent Variables
12137 @item gnus-agent-directory
12138 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
12139 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
12140 @file{~/News/agent/}.
12142 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
12143 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
12144 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
12145 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
12146 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
12149 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12150 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
12151 Hook run when connecting to the network.
12153 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12154 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
12155 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
12160 @node Example Setup
12161 @subsection Example Setup
12163 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
12164 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
12165 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
12168 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
12169 ;;; from your ISP's server.
12170 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
12172 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
12173 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
12174 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
12175 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
12177 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
12178 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
12180 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
12184 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
12185 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
12188 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
12189 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
12190 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
12191 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
12192 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
12195 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
12196 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
12197 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
12198 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
12199 back all the killed groups.)
12201 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
12202 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
12203 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
12206 @node Batching Agents
12207 @subsection Batching Agents
12209 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
12210 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
12211 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
12215 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
12219 @node Agent Caveats
12220 @subsection Agent Caveats
12222 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
12223 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
12227 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
12232 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
12233 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
12239 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
12240 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
12247 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
12248 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
12249 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
12252 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
12253 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
12254 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
12255 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
12256 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
12258 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
12259 before generating the summary buffer.
12261 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
12262 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
12263 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
12265 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
12266 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
12267 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
12268 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
12271 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
12272 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
12273 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
12274 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
12275 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
12276 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
12277 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
12278 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
12279 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
12280 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
12281 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
12282 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
12283 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
12284 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
12285 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
12286 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
12290 @node Summary Score Commands
12291 @section Summary Score Commands
12292 @cindex score commands
12294 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
12295 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
12296 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
12297 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
12298 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
12300 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
12301 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
12302 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
12303 score file the current one.
12305 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
12310 @kindex V s (Summary)
12311 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
12312 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
12315 @kindex V S (Summary)
12316 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
12317 Display the score of the current article
12318 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
12321 @kindex V t (Summary)
12322 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
12323 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
12324 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
12327 @kindex V R (Summary)
12328 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
12329 Run the current summary through the scoring process
12330 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
12331 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
12332 effect you're having.
12335 @kindex V c (Summary)
12336 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
12337 Make a different score file the current
12338 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
12341 @kindex V e (Summary)
12342 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
12343 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
12344 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
12348 @kindex V f (Summary)
12349 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
12350 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
12351 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
12354 @kindex V F (Summary)
12355 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12356 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
12357 after editing score files.
12360 @kindex V C (Summary)
12361 @findex gnus-score-customize
12362 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
12363 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
12367 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
12372 @kindex V m (Summary)
12373 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
12374 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
12375 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
12378 @kindex V x (Summary)
12379 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
12380 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
12381 expunge all articles below this score
12382 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
12385 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
12386 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12389 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12390 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12394 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12395 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12397 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12398 keys are available:
12402 Score on the author name.
12405 Score on the subject line.
12408 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12411 Score on the References line.
12417 Score on the number of lines.
12420 Score on the Message-ID.
12423 Score on followups.
12437 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12438 what headers you are scoring on.
12450 Substring matching.
12453 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12482 Greater than number.
12487 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12488 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12489 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12493 Temporary score entry.
12496 Permanent score entry.
12499 Immediately scoring.
12504 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12505 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12506 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12507 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12509 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12510 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12511 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12512 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12513 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12515 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12516 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12517 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12518 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12519 current score file.
12521 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12522 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12523 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12526 @node Group Score Commands
12527 @section Group Score Commands
12528 @cindex group score commands
12530 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12535 @kindex W f (Group)
12536 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12537 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12538 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12539 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12543 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12545 @findex gnus-batch-score
12546 @cindex batch scoring
12548 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
12552 @node Score Variables
12553 @section Score Variables
12554 @cindex score variables
12558 @item gnus-use-scoring
12559 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12560 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12561 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12563 @item gnus-kill-killed
12564 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12565 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12566 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12567 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12568 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12569 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12570 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12572 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12573 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12574 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12575 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12576 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12578 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12579 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12580 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12581 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12583 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12584 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12585 @cindex score cache
12586 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12587 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12588 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
12589 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12590 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12591 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12594 @item gnus-save-score
12595 @vindex gnus-save-score
12596 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12597 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12598 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12600 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12601 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12602 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12603 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12604 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12605 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12606 manually entered data.
12608 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12609 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12610 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12612 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12613 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12614 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12615 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12616 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12617 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12619 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12620 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12621 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12622 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12624 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12625 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12626 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12627 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12629 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12630 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12631 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12632 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12634 Predefined functions available are:
12637 @item gnus-score-find-single
12638 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12639 Only apply the group's own score file.
12641 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12642 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12643 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12644 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12645 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12646 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12647 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12648 then a regexp match is done.
12650 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12651 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12653 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12654 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12655 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12656 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12658 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12659 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12660 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12661 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12662 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12665 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12666 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12667 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12668 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12669 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12670 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12673 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12674 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12675 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12676 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12677 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12679 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12680 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12681 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12682 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12683 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12684 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12685 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12688 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12689 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12690 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12692 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12693 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12694 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12695 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12696 threading---according to the current value of
12697 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12698 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12699 simplified in this manner.
12704 @node Score File Format
12705 @section Score File Format
12706 @cindex score file format
12708 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12709 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12710 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12712 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12716 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12718 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12720 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12722 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12727 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12731 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12732 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12733 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12734 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12738 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12739 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12741 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12742 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12743 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12745 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12750 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12751 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12752 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12753 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12754 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12755 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12756 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12757 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12758 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12759 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12760 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12761 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12762 to articles that matches these score entries.
12764 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12765 score entry has one to four elements.
12769 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12770 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12774 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12775 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12776 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12777 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12778 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12779 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12782 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12783 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12784 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12785 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12786 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12789 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12790 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12791 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12792 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12795 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12796 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12797 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12798 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12799 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12800 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12801 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12802 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12803 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12804 instead, if you feel like.
12807 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12808 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12810 These predicates are true if
12813 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12816 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12817 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12824 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12825 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12826 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12827 it's not. I think.)
12829 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12830 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12831 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12832 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12835 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12836 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12837 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12838 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12839 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12840 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12841 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12845 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12846 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12847 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12848 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12849 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12850 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12851 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12852 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12855 @item Head, Body, All
12856 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12860 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12861 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12862 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12863 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12864 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12865 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12866 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12870 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12871 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12872 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12873 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12874 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12875 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12876 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12877 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12878 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12879 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12883 @cindex Score File Atoms
12885 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12886 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12889 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12890 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12892 @item mark-and-expunge
12893 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12894 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12897 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12898 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12899 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12900 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12901 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12904 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12905 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12908 @item exclude-files
12909 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12910 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12914 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12915 ignored when handling global score files.
12918 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12919 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12920 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12921 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12924 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12925 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12926 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12927 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12929 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12933 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12936 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12937 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12938 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12939 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12940 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12942 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12943 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12944 ordinary scoring rules.
12947 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12948 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12949 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12950 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12951 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12952 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12953 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12954 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12955 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12956 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12957 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12961 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12962 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12963 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12964 file for a number of groups.
12967 @cindex local variables
12968 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12969 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12970 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12971 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12972 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12976 @node Score File Editing
12977 @section Score File Editing
12979 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12980 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12981 with a mode for that.
12983 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12984 additional commands:
12989 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12990 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12991 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12992 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12995 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12996 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12997 Insert the current date in numerical format
12998 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12999 you were wondering.
13002 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
13003 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
13004 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
13005 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
13006 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
13011 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
13013 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
13014 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
13016 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
13017 e} to begin editing score files.
13020 @node Adaptive Scoring
13021 @section Adaptive Scoring
13022 @cindex adaptive scoring
13024 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
13025 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
13026 stupidity, to be precise.
13028 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
13029 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
13030 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
13031 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
13032 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
13033 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
13034 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
13035 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
13036 variable to @code{(word line)}.
13038 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13039 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
13040 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
13041 might look something like this:
13044 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
13045 '((gnus-unread-mark)
13046 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
13047 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
13048 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
13049 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
13050 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
13051 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
13052 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
13053 (gnus-ancient-mark)
13054 (gnus-low-score-mark)
13055 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
13058 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
13059 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
13060 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
13061 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
13062 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
13063 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
13066 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
13067 will be applied to each article.
13069 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
13070 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
13071 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
13072 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
13074 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
13075 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
13076 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
13077 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
13079 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
13080 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
13081 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
13082 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
13084 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
13085 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
13086 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
13087 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
13088 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
13089 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
13091 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
13092 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
13093 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
13094 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
13095 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
13096 aspirins afterwards.)
13098 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
13099 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
13100 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
13102 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
13103 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
13104 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
13106 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
13107 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
13108 let you use different rules in different groups.
13110 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
13111 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
13112 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
13115 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
13116 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
13117 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
13118 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
13119 the length of the match is less than
13120 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
13121 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
13124 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13125 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
13126 headers. If you adapt on words, the
13127 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
13128 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
13131 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
13132 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
13133 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
13134 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
13135 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
13138 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
13139 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
13140 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
13141 score with 30 points.
13143 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
13144 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
13145 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
13146 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
13147 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
13149 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
13150 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
13151 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
13152 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
13154 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
13155 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
13156 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
13157 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
13159 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
13160 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
13161 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
13162 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
13163 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
13165 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
13166 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
13167 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
13169 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
13170 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
13171 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
13172 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
13175 @node Home Score File
13176 @section Home Score File
13178 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
13179 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
13180 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
13181 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
13183 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
13184 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
13185 could perhaps use the same home score file.
13187 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
13188 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
13193 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
13197 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
13198 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
13202 A list. The elements in this list can be:
13206 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
13207 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
13210 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
13211 the home score file.
13214 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
13217 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
13222 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
13225 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13226 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
13229 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
13230 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
13232 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
13234 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13235 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
13238 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
13239 Other functions include
13242 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
13243 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
13244 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
13245 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
13249 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
13250 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
13251 their own home score files:
13254 (setq gnus-home-score-file
13255 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
13256 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
13257 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
13258 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
13261 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
13262 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
13263 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
13264 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
13265 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
13267 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
13268 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
13269 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
13270 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
13271 precedence over this variable.
13274 @node Followups To Yourself
13275 @section Followups To Yourself
13277 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
13278 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
13279 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
13280 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
13281 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
13282 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
13286 @item gnus-score-followup-article
13287 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
13288 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
13291 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
13292 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
13293 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
13297 @vindex message-sent-hook
13298 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
13299 @code{message-sent-hook}.
13301 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
13302 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
13306 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13307 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
13310 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
13311 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
13316 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
13320 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
13321 is system-dependent.
13325 @section Scoring Tips
13326 @cindex scoring tips
13332 @cindex scoring crossposts
13333 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
13334 the @code{Xref} header.
13336 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
13339 @item Multiple crossposts
13340 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
13341 more than, say, 3 groups:
13343 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
13346 @item Matching on the body
13347 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
13348 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
13349 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
13350 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
13351 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
13352 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
13353 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
13356 @item Marking as read
13357 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
13358 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
13359 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
13363 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
13365 @item Negated character classes
13366 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
13367 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
13368 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
13372 @node Reverse Scoring
13373 @section Reverse Scoring
13374 @cindex reverse scoring
13376 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
13377 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
13378 like this in your score file:
13382 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
13387 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
13388 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
13391 @node Global Score Files
13392 @section Global Score Files
13393 @cindex global score files
13395 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
13396 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13397 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13399 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13400 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13401 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13403 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13404 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13405 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13406 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13407 files are applicable to which group.
13409 Say you want to use the score file
13410 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13411 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13414 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13415 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13416 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13419 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13420 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13421 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13422 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13423 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13425 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13426 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13428 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13429 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13430 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13431 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13432 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13433 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13435 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13441 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13443 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13445 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13447 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13448 lowered out of existence.
13450 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13451 articles completely.
13454 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13455 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13456 old articles for a long time.
13459 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13460 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13461 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13462 holding our breath yet?
13466 @section Kill Files
13469 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13470 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13471 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13473 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13474 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13475 files into score files.
13477 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13478 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13479 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13480 that isn't a very good idea.
13482 Normal kill files look like this:
13485 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13486 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13490 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13491 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13493 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13494 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13497 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13502 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13503 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13504 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13507 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13508 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13509 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13512 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13517 @kindex M-k (Group)
13518 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13519 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13522 @kindex M-K (Group)
13523 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13524 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13527 Kill file variables:
13530 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13531 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13532 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13533 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13534 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13535 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13536 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13538 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13539 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13540 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13541 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13544 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13545 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13546 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13547 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13548 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13549 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13550 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13551 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13552 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13554 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13555 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13556 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13561 @node Converting Kill Files
13562 @section Converting Kill Files
13564 @cindex converting kill files
13566 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13567 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13568 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13571 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13572 You can fetch it from
13573 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13575 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13576 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13577 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13585 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13586 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13587 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13589 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13590 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13591 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13592 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13593 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13594 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13595 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13596 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13600 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13601 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13602 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13603 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13607 @node Using GroupLens
13608 @subsection Using GroupLens
13610 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13612 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13613 better bit in town at the moment.
13615 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13619 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13620 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13621 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13622 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13624 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13625 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13626 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13627 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13629 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13630 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13631 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13635 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13636 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13637 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13638 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13639 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13640 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13643 @node Rating Articles
13644 @subsection Rating Articles
13646 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13647 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13648 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13649 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13652 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13657 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13658 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13659 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13662 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13663 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13664 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13665 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13666 threads in rec.humor.
13670 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13671 the score of the article you're reading.
13676 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13677 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13678 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13681 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13682 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13683 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13687 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13688 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13691 @node Displaying Predictions
13692 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13694 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13695 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13696 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13697 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13698 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13700 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13701 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13702 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13703 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13704 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13705 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13706 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13707 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13708 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13709 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13710 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13711 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13712 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13714 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13715 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13716 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13717 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13719 The following are valid values for that variable.
13722 @item prediction-spot
13723 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13726 @item confidence-interval
13727 A numeric confidence interval.
13729 @item prediction-bar
13730 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13732 @item confidence-bar
13733 Numerical confidence.
13735 @item confidence-spot
13736 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13738 @item prediction-num
13739 Plain-old numeric value.
13741 @item confidence-plus-minus
13742 Prediction +/- confidence.
13747 @node GroupLens Variables
13748 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13752 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13753 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13754 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13755 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13758 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13759 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13762 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13763 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13765 @item grouplens-score-offset
13766 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13767 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13770 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13771 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13772 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13777 @node Advanced Scoring
13778 @section Advanced Scoring
13780 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13781 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13782 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13783 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13784 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13786 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13790 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13791 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13792 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13796 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13797 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13799 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13800 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13801 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13802 non-@code{nil} value.
13804 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13805 operator, and various match operators.
13812 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13813 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13814 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13819 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13820 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13821 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13826 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13827 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13831 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13832 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13833 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13834 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13835 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13836 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13837 the ancestry you want to go.
13839 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13840 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13841 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13842 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13843 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13846 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13847 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13849 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13850 when he's talking about Gnus:
13854 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13855 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13861 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13865 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13872 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13873 really don't want to read what he's written:
13877 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13878 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13882 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13883 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13884 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13891 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13892 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13893 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13894 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13898 The possibilities are endless.
13901 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13902 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13904 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13905 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13906 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13907 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13908 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13909 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13910 @samp{subject}) first.
13912 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13913 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13924 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13925 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13931 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13938 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13939 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13944 @section Score Decays
13945 @cindex score decays
13948 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13949 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13950 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13951 use them in any sensible way.
13953 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13954 @findex gnus-decay-score
13955 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
13956 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13957 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13958 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13959 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13960 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
13961 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13962 definition of that function:
13965 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13967 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
13968 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13971 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13973 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13975 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13978 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13979 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13980 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13981 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13985 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13988 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13991 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13995 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13996 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13997 the new score, which should be an integer.
13999 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
14000 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
14007 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
14008 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
14009 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
14010 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
14011 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
14012 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
14013 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
14014 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
14015 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
14016 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
14017 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
14018 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
14019 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
14020 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
14021 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
14022 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
14023 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
14024 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
14028 @node Process/Prefix
14029 @section Process/Prefix
14030 @cindex process/prefix convention
14032 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
14033 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
14035 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
14036 command to be performed on.
14040 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
14041 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
14042 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
14043 with the current one.
14045 @vindex transient-mark-mode
14046 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
14047 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
14049 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
14050 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
14053 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
14054 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
14056 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
14059 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
14060 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
14061 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
14062 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
14064 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
14065 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
14066 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
14067 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
14068 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
14069 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
14070 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
14071 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
14075 @section Interactive
14076 @cindex interaction
14080 @item gnus-novice-user
14081 @vindex gnus-novice-user
14082 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
14083 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
14084 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
14085 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
14088 @item gnus-expert-user
14089 @vindex gnus-expert-user
14090 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
14091 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
14092 matter how strange.
14094 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
14095 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
14096 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
14097 is @code{t} by default.
14099 @item gnus-interactive-exit
14100 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
14101 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
14106 @node Symbolic Prefixes
14107 @section Symbolic Prefixes
14108 @cindex symbolic prefixes
14110 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
14111 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
14112 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
14113 rule of 900 to the current article.
14115 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
14116 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
14117 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
14118 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
14119 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
14120 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
14121 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
14123 @kindex M-i (Summary)
14124 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
14125 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
14126 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
14127 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
14128 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
14129 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
14130 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
14131 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
14133 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
14134 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
14135 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
14137 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
14141 @node Formatting Variables
14142 @section Formatting Variables
14143 @cindex formatting variables
14145 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
14146 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
14147 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
14148 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
14149 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
14152 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
14153 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
14154 lots of percentages everywhere.
14157 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
14158 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
14159 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
14160 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
14161 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
14164 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
14165 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
14166 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
14167 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
14168 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
14169 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
14170 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
14171 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
14173 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
14174 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
14176 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
14177 @findex gnus-update-format
14178 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
14179 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
14180 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
14181 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
14185 @node Formatting Basics
14186 @subsection Formatting Basics
14188 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
14189 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
14190 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
14192 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
14193 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
14194 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
14195 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
14196 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
14199 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
14200 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
14201 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
14202 less than 4 characters wide.
14205 @node Mode Line Formatting
14206 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
14208 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
14209 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
14210 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
14211 with the following two differences:
14216 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
14219 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
14220 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
14221 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
14222 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
14223 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
14224 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
14225 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
14230 @node Advanced Formatting
14231 @subsection Advanced Formatting
14233 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
14234 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
14235 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
14236 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
14238 These are the valid modifiers:
14243 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
14247 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
14252 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
14255 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
14260 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
14263 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
14266 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
14269 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
14273 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
14274 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
14275 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
14276 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
14277 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
14278 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
14279 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
14281 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
14282 last operation, padding.
14284 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
14285 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
14286 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
14287 @xref{Compilation}.
14290 @node User-Defined Specs
14291 @subsection User-Defined Specs
14293 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
14294 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
14295 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
14296 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
14297 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
14298 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
14299 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
14300 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
14301 should protect against that.
14303 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
14304 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
14305 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
14306 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
14310 @node Formatting Fonts
14311 @subsection Formatting Fonts
14313 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
14314 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
14315 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
14316 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
14319 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
14320 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
14321 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
14322 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
14323 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
14324 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
14326 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
14329 ;; Create three face types.
14330 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
14331 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
14333 ;; We want the article count to be in
14334 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
14335 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
14336 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
14338 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
14339 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
14341 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
14342 (setq gnus-group-line-format
14343 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
14346 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
14347 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
14349 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
14350 mode-line variables.
14353 @node Windows Configuration
14354 @section Windows Configuration
14355 @cindex windows configuration
14357 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
14359 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
14360 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
14361 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
14362 @code{t} by default.
14364 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
14365 glitches. Use at your own peril.
14367 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
14368 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
14369 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
14372 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
14373 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
14374 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14378 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
14379 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
14380 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
14381 possible names is listed below.
14383 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
14384 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
14387 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
14391 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
14392 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
14393 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
14394 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
14395 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
14396 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
14397 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
14398 size spec per split.
14400 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
14401 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14402 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14403 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14404 present) gets focus.
14406 Here's a more complicated example:
14409 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14410 (summary 0.25 point)
14411 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14415 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14416 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14417 occupy, not a percentage.
14419 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14420 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14421 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14422 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14423 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14426 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14429 (article (horizontal 1.0
14434 (summary 0.25 point)
14439 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14440 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14442 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14443 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14444 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14445 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14446 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14448 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14449 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14450 lines from the splits.
14452 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14456 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14457 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14458 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14459 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14460 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14461 size = number | frame-params
14462 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14465 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14466 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14467 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14468 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14470 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14471 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14472 @cindex window height
14473 @cindex window width
14474 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14475 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14476 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14477 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14478 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14479 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14481 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14482 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14483 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14484 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14486 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14487 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14488 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14489 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14490 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14491 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14492 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14493 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14494 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14495 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14496 configuration list.
14499 (gnus-configure-frame
14503 (article 0.3 point))
14511 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14512 @code{frame} split:
14515 (gnus-configure-frame
14518 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14520 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14521 (user-position . t)
14522 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14527 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14528 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14529 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14530 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14531 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14532 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14533 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14534 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14537 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14538 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14540 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14541 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14542 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14543 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14544 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14545 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14547 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14548 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14549 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14553 (message (horizontal 1.0
14554 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14556 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14561 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14562 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14563 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14564 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14565 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14568 (gnus-add-configuration
14569 '(article (vertical 1.0
14571 (summary .25 point)
14575 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14576 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14577 Gnus has been loaded.
14579 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14580 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14581 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14582 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14583 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14585 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
14586 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
14587 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
14591 @node Faces and Fonts
14592 @section Faces and Fonts
14597 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14598 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14599 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14604 @section Compilation
14605 @cindex compilation
14606 @cindex byte-compilation
14608 @findex gnus-compile
14610 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14611 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14612 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14613 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14614 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14615 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14618 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14619 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14620 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14621 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14622 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14623 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14624 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14628 @section Mode Lines
14631 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14632 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14633 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14634 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14635 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14636 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14637 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14640 @cindex display-time
14642 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14643 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14644 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14645 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14646 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14647 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14648 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14649 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14652 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14654 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14655 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14657 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14658 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14659 (length display-time-string)))))
14662 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14663 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14664 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14665 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14666 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14669 @node Highlighting and Menus
14670 @section Highlighting and Menus
14672 @cindex highlighting
14675 @vindex gnus-visual
14676 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14677 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14678 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14681 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14682 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14685 @item group-highlight
14686 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14687 @item summary-highlight
14688 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14689 @item article-highlight
14690 Do highlights according to @code{gnus-article-display-hook} in the
14693 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14695 Create menus in the group buffer.
14697 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14699 Create menus in the article buffer.
14701 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14703 Create menus in the server buffer.
14705 Create menus in the score buffers.
14707 Create menus in all buffers.
14710 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14711 buffers, you could say something like:
14714 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14717 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14720 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14723 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14724 in all Gnus buffers.
14726 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14729 @item gnus-mouse-face
14730 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14731 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14732 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14736 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14740 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14741 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14742 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14744 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14745 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14746 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14748 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14749 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14750 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14752 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14753 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14754 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14756 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14757 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14758 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14760 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14761 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14762 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14773 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14774 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14775 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14776 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14777 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14781 @vindex gnus-carpal
14782 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14783 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14784 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14789 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14790 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14791 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14793 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14794 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14795 Face used on buttons.
14797 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14798 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14799 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14801 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14802 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14803 Buttons in the group buffer.
14805 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14806 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14807 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14809 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14810 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14811 Buttons in the server buffer.
14813 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14814 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14815 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14818 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14819 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14820 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14828 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14829 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14830 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14831 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14832 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14834 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14835 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14836 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14838 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14839 been idle for thirty minutes:
14842 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14845 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14849 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14852 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14853 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14854 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14856 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14857 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14858 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14859 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14861 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14862 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14863 @var{idle} minutes.
14865 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14866 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14869 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14870 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14871 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14873 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14874 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14875 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14876 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14878 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14879 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14880 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14882 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14883 your @file{.gnus} file:
14885 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14887 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14890 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14891 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14892 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14893 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14894 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14895 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14896 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14897 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14898 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14899 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14900 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14902 @findex gnus-demon-init
14903 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14904 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14905 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14906 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14907 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14909 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14910 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14911 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14920 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14921 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14923 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14924 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14925 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14926 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14929 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14930 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14931 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14932 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14934 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14935 this will make spam disappear.
14937 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14940 @item gnus-use-nocem
14941 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14942 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14945 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14946 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14947 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14948 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14949 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14951 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14952 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14953 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14954 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14955 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14956 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14957 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14959 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14962 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14963 @cindex Chris Lewis
14964 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14965 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14968 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14969 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14970 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14972 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14974 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14977 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14978 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14979 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14982 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14983 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14984 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14985 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14986 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14987 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14988 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14989 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14990 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14991 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14993 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14994 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14997 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
15000 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
15001 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
15004 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
15007 The specs are applied left-to-right.
15010 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
15011 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
15013 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
15014 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
15015 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
15016 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
15018 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
15019 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
15022 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
15024 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
15032 This might be dangerous, though.
15034 @item gnus-nocem-directory
15035 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
15036 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
15037 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
15039 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15040 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
15041 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
15042 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
15043 might then see old spam.
15047 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
15048 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
15049 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
15050 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
15057 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
15058 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
15059 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
15061 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
15062 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
15063 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
15064 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
15065 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
15066 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
15067 @code{undo} function.
15069 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
15070 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
15071 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
15072 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
15073 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
15074 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
15075 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
15076 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
15077 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
15078 never be totally undoable.
15080 @findex gnus-undo-mode
15081 @vindex gnus-use-undo
15083 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
15084 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
15085 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
15086 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
15091 @section Moderation
15094 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
15095 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
15096 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
15099 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
15103 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
15106 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
15108 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
15113 You split your incoming mail by matching on
15114 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
15115 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
15118 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
15119 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
15122 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
15123 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
15127 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
15130 (setq gnus-moderated-list
15131 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
15135 @node XEmacs Enhancements
15136 @section XEmacs Enhancements
15139 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
15143 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
15144 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
15145 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
15146 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
15159 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
15160 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
15161 over your shoulder as you read news.
15164 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
15165 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
15166 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
15167 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
15168 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
15173 @subsubsection Picon Basics
15175 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
15184 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
15185 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
15186 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
15187 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
15188 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
15189 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
15190 @code{GIF} formats.
15193 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15194 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
15195 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
15196 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
15197 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
15199 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15200 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
15201 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
15202 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
15203 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
15204 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15207 @node Picon Requirements
15208 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
15210 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
15211 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
15214 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
15215 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
15216 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
15218 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15219 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
15220 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
15221 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
15222 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
15226 @subsubsection Easy Picons
15228 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
15229 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
15232 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
15233 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15234 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15235 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
15236 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
15239 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
15240 containing the Picons databases.
15242 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
15245 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15246 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
15251 @subsubsection Hard Picons
15259 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
15260 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
15261 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
15262 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
15263 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
15268 @item gnus-picons-database
15269 @vindex gnus-picons-database
15270 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
15271 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
15272 subdirectories. This is only useful if
15273 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
15274 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
15276 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15277 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
15278 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
15279 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
15280 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
15281 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
15282 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
15284 @item gnus-picons-display-where
15285 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15286 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
15287 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
15288 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
15289 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
15290 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
15291 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
15293 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15294 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
15295 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
15300 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
15301 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
15303 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
15304 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
15307 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
15308 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
15310 @item gnus-article-display-picons
15311 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15312 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
15313 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
15314 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15316 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
15317 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
15318 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
15319 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
15323 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
15324 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
15327 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
15331 @node Picon Useless Configuration
15332 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
15340 The following variables offer further control over how things are
15341 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
15342 don't need to worry about.
15346 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
15347 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
15348 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15349 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
15351 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
15352 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
15353 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
15354 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
15356 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
15357 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
15358 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
15359 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
15360 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
15362 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15363 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
15364 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
15365 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
15366 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
15367 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
15368 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
15370 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15371 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
15372 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
15373 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
15375 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15376 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
15377 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
15378 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
15379 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
15380 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
15381 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
15383 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15384 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
15385 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
15386 Defaults to @code{nil}.
15388 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
15389 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
15390 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
15391 Defaults to @code{t}.
15393 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15394 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
15395 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
15396 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
15398 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15399 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
15400 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
15401 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
15403 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15404 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
15405 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
15406 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
15407 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
15408 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
15409 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
15410 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15421 @subsection Smileys
15426 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15431 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15432 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15434 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15435 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15438 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15441 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15442 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15443 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15444 text and maps that to file names.
15446 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15447 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15448 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15449 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15450 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15451 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15453 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15454 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15456 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15457 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15458 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15460 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15461 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15465 @item smiley-data-directory
15466 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15467 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15469 @item smiley-flesh-color
15470 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15471 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15473 @item smiley-features-color
15474 @vindex smiley-features-color
15475 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15477 @item smiley-tongue-color
15478 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15479 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15481 @item smiley-circle-color
15482 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15483 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15485 @item smiley-mouse-face
15486 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15487 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15493 @subsection Toolbar
15503 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15504 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15505 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15506 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15507 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15509 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15510 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15511 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15513 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15514 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15515 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15517 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15518 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15519 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15525 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15528 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15529 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15530 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15531 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15532 unusual directory structure.
15534 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15535 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15536 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15537 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15539 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15540 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15541 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15542 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15543 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15544 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15546 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15547 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15548 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15562 @node Fuzzy Matching
15563 @section Fuzzy Matching
15564 @cindex fuzzy matching
15566 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15567 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15569 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15570 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15571 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15573 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15574 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15575 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15576 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15577 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15580 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15581 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15585 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15587 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15588 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15589 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15590 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15591 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15592 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15593 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15594 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15597 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15598 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15599 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15600 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15601 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15602 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15606 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15607 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15609 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15610 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15611 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15612 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15613 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15614 part of the mail address.)
15617 (setq message-default-news-headers
15618 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15621 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15622 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15627 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15628 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15629 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15635 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15636 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15637 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15638 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15640 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15641 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15642 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15643 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15644 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15645 your fancy split rule in this way:
15650 (to "larsi" "misc")
15654 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15655 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15656 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15657 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15658 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15660 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15661 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15662 at @* @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15663 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15664 cosmic balance somewhat.
15666 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15667 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15668 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15669 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15672 @node Various Various
15673 @section Various Various
15679 @item gnus-home-directory
15680 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15681 defaults to @file{~/}.
15683 @item gnus-directory
15684 @vindex gnus-directory
15685 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15686 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15687 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15689 Note that Gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15690 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15691 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15692 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15694 @item gnus-default-directory
15695 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15696 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15697 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15698 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15699 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15700 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15701 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15704 @vindex gnus-verbose
15705 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15706 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15707 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15708 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15709 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15711 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15712 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15713 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15714 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15716 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15717 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15718 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15719 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15720 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15721 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15722 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15723 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15724 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15725 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15727 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15728 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15729 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15730 read when doing the operation described above.
15732 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15733 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15735 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15736 @cindex characters in file names
15737 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15738 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15739 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15742 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15746 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15747 Windows (phooey) systems.
15749 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15750 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15751 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15752 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15753 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15755 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15756 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15757 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15758 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15759 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15761 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15762 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15763 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15772 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15773 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15775 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15777 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15783 Not because of victories @*
15786 but for the common sunshine,@*
15788 the largess of the spring.
15792 but for the day's work done@*
15793 as well as I was able;@*
15794 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15795 but at the common table.@*
15800 @chapter Appendices
15803 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15804 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15805 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15806 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15807 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15808 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15809 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15817 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15818 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15820 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15821 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15822 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15823 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15824 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15826 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15827 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15828 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15829 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15830 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15831 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15833 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15834 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15835 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15836 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15838 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15839 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15840 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15842 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15843 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15845 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15846 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15848 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15849 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6 on March 8th 1998.
15851 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15852 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15853 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15854 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15855 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15859 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15860 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15861 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15862 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15863 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15864 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15865 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15872 What's the point of Gnus?
15874 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15875 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15876 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15877 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15878 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15879 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15880 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15881 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15882 keep track of millions of people who post?
15884 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15885 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15886 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15887 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15888 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15889 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15890 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15891 every one of you to explore and invent.
15893 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15894 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15897 @node Compatibility
15898 @subsection Compatibility
15900 @cindex compatibility
15901 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15902 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15903 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15908 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15912 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15915 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15918 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15919 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15920 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15921 important variables have their values copied into their global
15922 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15923 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15925 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15926 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15927 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15928 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15929 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15933 @cindex highlighting
15934 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15935 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15936 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15937 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15938 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15939 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15942 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15943 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15944 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15945 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15947 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15948 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15949 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15950 to stop doing it the old way.
15952 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15954 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15956 @cindex reporting bugs
15958 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15959 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15960 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15962 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15963 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15964 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15965 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15970 @subsection Conformity
15972 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15973 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15980 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15984 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15986 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15987 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15988 We do have some breaches to this one.
15993 Gnus does not yet fully handle MIME, and this standard-to-be seems to
15994 think that MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15997 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15998 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15999 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
16000 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
16001 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
16006 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
16007 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
16008 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
16009 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
16013 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
16014 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
16019 @subsection Emacsen
16025 Gnus should work on :
16033 XEmacs 20.4 and up.
16037 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
16038 reliably, at least.
16040 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
16041 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
16042 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
16047 @subsection Contributors
16048 @cindex contributors
16050 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
16051 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
16052 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
16053 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
16054 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
16055 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
16056 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
16057 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
16058 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
16059 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
16061 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
16067 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
16070 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
16071 well as numerous other things).
16074 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
16077 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
16080 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
16081 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
16084 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
16087 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
16088 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16091 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
16094 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
16097 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
16100 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
16103 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
16104 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
16107 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
16110 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
16113 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
16116 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
16120 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
16123 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
16126 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
16129 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
16130 well as autoconf support.
16134 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
16135 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
16137 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
16146 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
16150 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
16172 Massimo Campostrini,
16180 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
16186 Michael Welsh Duggan,
16189 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
16193 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
16200 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
16202 Michelangelo Grigni,
16205 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
16207 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
16209 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
16214 François Felix Ingrand,
16215 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
16217 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
16226 Peter Skov Knudsen,
16227 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
16228 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
16229 Thor Kristoffersen,
16232 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
16249 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
16250 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
16257 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
16261 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
16264 John McClary Prevost,
16270 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
16275 Christian von Roques,
16277 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
16284 Philippe Schnoebelen,
16286 Randal L. Schwartz,
16315 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
16317 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
16319 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
16320 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
16321 (550kB and counting).
16323 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
16326 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
16327 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
16331 @subsection New Features
16332 @cindex new features
16335 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
16336 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
16337 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
16338 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
16341 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
16342 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
16343 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
16347 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
16349 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
16354 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
16355 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
16358 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
16359 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
16362 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
16365 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
16366 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
16367 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
16370 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
16371 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
16372 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
16373 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16376 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
16377 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16380 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
16381 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
16382 (@pxref{The Active File}).
16385 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
16386 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
16389 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
16390 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
16391 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16394 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
16395 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
16396 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
16399 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
16400 the @file{.emacs} file.
16403 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
16404 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
16407 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
16408 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
16411 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
16412 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16415 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
16416 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
16419 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
16420 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16423 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16426 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16427 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16430 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16431 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16434 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16435 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16438 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16441 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16442 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16445 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16449 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16453 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16454 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16457 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16463 @node September Gnus
16464 @subsubsection September Gnus
16468 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16472 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16477 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16478 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16482 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16483 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16487 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16491 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16492 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16495 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16499 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16502 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16505 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16508 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16512 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16513 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16516 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16520 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16524 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16528 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16532 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16535 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16536 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16539 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16543 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16544 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16547 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16550 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16551 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16552 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16555 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16559 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16562 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16566 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16567 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16570 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16571 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16574 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16575 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16578 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16579 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16580 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16583 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16584 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16587 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16590 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16593 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16594 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16598 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16601 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16604 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16605 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16608 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16612 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16615 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16620 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16623 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16627 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16630 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16634 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16637 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16640 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16641 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16644 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16645 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16649 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16650 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16653 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16657 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16658 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16661 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16664 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16668 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16672 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16673 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16676 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16680 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16681 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16684 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16685 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16688 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16692 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16695 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16696 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16700 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16703 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16709 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16711 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16715 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16722 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16725 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16726 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16729 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16730 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16734 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16735 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16738 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16741 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16742 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16745 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16749 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16750 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16754 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16755 Server Internals}).
16758 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16762 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16765 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16766 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16769 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16770 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16771 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16774 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16775 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16778 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16779 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16782 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16786 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16787 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16790 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16791 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16794 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16798 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16801 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16805 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16806 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16809 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16810 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16813 A new command for reading collections of documents
16814 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16815 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16818 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16822 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16823 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16826 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16827 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16828 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16831 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16832 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16836 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16840 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16844 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16849 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16853 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16857 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16858 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16861 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16864 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16865 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16872 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16874 New features in Gnus 5.6:
16879 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16880 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16881 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16884 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16885 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16886 group, which is created automatically.
16889 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16893 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16896 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16897 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16900 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16904 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16907 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16908 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16911 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16914 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16915 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16918 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16919 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16922 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16923 control over simplification.
16926 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16929 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16933 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16936 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16939 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16940 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16941 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16944 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16945 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16948 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16952 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16953 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16956 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16957 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16960 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16964 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16967 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16970 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16971 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16974 A new function for citing in Message has been
16975 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16978 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16981 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16985 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16986 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16989 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16990 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16993 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16996 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
17001 @node Newest Features
17002 @subsection Newest Features
17005 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
17008 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
17010 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
17011 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
17014 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
17019 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
17022 Really do unbinhexing.
17025 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
17026 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
17029 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
17032 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
17035 facep is not declared.
17038 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
17039 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
17042 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
17047 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
17048 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
17049 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
17050 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
17051 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
17052 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
17053 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
17058 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
17061 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
17064 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
17066 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
17067 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
17069 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
17071 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
17073 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
17074 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
17076 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
17078 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
17079 be marked as unread.
17081 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
17083 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
17085 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
17086 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
17088 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
17090 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
17092 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
17093 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
17095 topics that contain just groups with ticked
17096 articles aren't displayed.
17098 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
17100 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
17101 make the mail groups killed.
17103 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
17105 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
17106 and articles have to be removed.
17108 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
17111 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
17113 finding short score file names takes forever.
17115 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17117 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
17119 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
17121 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
17123 nnweb doesn't work properly.
17125 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
17127 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
17128 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
17132 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
17134 really unbinhex binhex files.
17136 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
17137 bar and the Gnus bar.
17140 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
17141 `(canonize-message-id id)'
17142 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
17143 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
17144 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
17145 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
17150 nnml .overview directory with splits.
17154 postponed commands.
17156 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
17158 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
17161 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
17162 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
17164 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
17165 inherit copy prompts and save files.
17167 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
17169 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
17170 for backends that support that.
17172 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
17174 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
17175 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
17177 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
17178 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
17180 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
17182 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
17184 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
17186 server mode command: close/open all connections
17188 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
17189 has been changed before using it.
17191 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
17193 hide (sub)threads with low score.
17195 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
17197 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
17199 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
17200 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
17202 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
17203 contain groups that match a regexp.
17205 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
17208 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
17211 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
17212 from subject lines.
17214 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
17216 nntp-ping-before-connect
17218 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
17220 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
17221 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
17223 message annotations.
17225 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
17227 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
17228 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
17230 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
17235 support qmail maildir spools
17237 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
17239 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
17241 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
17243 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
17244 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
17246 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
17248 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
17250 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
17251 finds and generate proper active ranges.
17253 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
17254 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
17256 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
17258 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
17260 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
17261 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
17263 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
17265 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
17267 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
17268 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
17271 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
17273 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
17275 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
17276 `C-c C-c' when posting.
17278 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
17281 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
17282 should be marker as expirable.
17284 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
17286 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
17287 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
17289 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
17290 Also consult Date headers.
17292 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
17294 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
17296 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
17297 Message-ID, delete the "original".
17299 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
17300 into a See-Also header.
17302 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
17304 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
17306 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
17307 should be listed as such and not as "K".
17309 generate font names dynamically.
17311 score file mode auto-alist.
17313 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
17314 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
17316 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
17317 absolutely all headers there is.
17319 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
17320 and pipe them to the process.
17322 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
17323 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
17324 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
17326 function for starting to edit a file to put into
17327 the current mail group.
17329 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
17331 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
17332 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
17334 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
17335 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
17337 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
17339 when replying to several process-marked articles,
17340 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
17342 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
17343 groups it has been mailed to.
17345 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
17347 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
17349 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
17351 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
17352 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
17354 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
17355 newlines) should be ignored.
17357 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
17358 groups in subtopics as well.
17360 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
17362 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
17365 add edit and forward secondary marks.
17367 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
17369 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
17371 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
17373 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
17375 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
17377 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
17378 or the formatted article.
17380 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
17382 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
17383 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
17385 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
17387 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
17389 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
17391 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
17392 even unread articles.
17394 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
17396 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
17398 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
17400 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
17402 canceling articles in foreign groups.
17404 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
17407 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
17408 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
17410 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
17411 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
17413 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
17415 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
17417 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
17418 from a particular server? Hm.
17420 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
17421 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
17423 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17425 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17426 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17428 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17429 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17431 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17432 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17433 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17436 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17437 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17439 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17441 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17443 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17445 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17448 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17451 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17452 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17454 command to show and edit group scores
17456 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17459 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17461 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17463 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17464 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17467 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17468 that are of that length.
17470 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17472 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17474 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17476 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17478 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17480 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17482 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17483 a score lower than this number.
17485 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17487 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17489 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17490 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17492 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17494 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17495 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17497 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17500 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17501 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17502 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17503 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17505 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17508 command to remove all topic stuff.
17510 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17511 and splitting the resulting digests.
17513 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17515 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17517 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17518 matches an alist -- before saving.
17520 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17522 variable to activate each group before entering them
17523 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17525 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17526 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17528 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17529 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17531 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17533 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17534 of several groups at once.
17536 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17537 matches some regexp(s).
17539 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17541 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17543 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17545 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17547 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17549 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17551 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17553 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17554 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17555 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17556 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17558 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17559 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17561 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17563 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17564 recently cited text.
17566 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17568 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17571 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17572 server and just read the articles in the server
17574 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17575 value of nnoo variables.
17577 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17579 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17580 listed in each group info.
17582 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17585 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17586 should only be applied to some groups.
17588 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17589 mail-copies-to: never.
17591 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17592 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17594 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
17596 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17599 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17602 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17604 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17607 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17611 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17613 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17614 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17615 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17616 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17617 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17619 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
17620 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17627 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17628 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17630 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17631 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17633 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17634 "Return the date the group was last read."
17635 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17640 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
17641 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
17642 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17643 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17647 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17648 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17650 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17653 They could be used like this:
17657 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17658 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17659 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17661 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17663 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17666 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17669 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17670 affect the summary line format.
17674 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17676 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17677 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17679 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17682 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17684 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17686 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17688 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17690 - For other files, just find them normally.
17692 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17693 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17696 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17697 tell him what you are doing.
17700 Currently, I get prompted:
17704 decend into sci.something ?
17708 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17709 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17710 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17711 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17714 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17715 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
17716 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17717 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17720 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17721 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17727 more than n blank lines
17729 more than m identical lines
17730 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17732 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17736 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17737 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17738 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17739 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17742 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17743 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17744 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17745 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17748 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17751 soup - bowl of soup
17752 score below - dim light bulb
17753 score over - bright light bulb
17756 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17761 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17762 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17763 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17764 if (articles-selected)
17765 start-reading-selected-articles;
17766 junk-unread-articles;
17771 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17772 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17773 select-thread-under-cursor;
17775 select-article-under-cursor;
17779 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17780 if (more-pages-in-article)
17782 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17789 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17790 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17791 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17794 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17795 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17796 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17797 the wildcard expression).
17800 It would be nice if it also handled
17802 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17804 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17809 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17810 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17811 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17812 article versions) variable.
17814 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17816 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17817 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17821 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17824 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17825 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17826 (message-sent-hook).
17828 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17831 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17835 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17836 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17839 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17840 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17841 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17844 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17845 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17849 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17852 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17856 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17857 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17860 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17861 value of the signature file.
17864 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17865 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17868 (setq message-tab-alist
17869 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17870 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17872 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17876 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17879 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17882 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17885 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17886 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17889 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17892 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17893 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17894 do more gathering by subject.
17897 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17898 article numerical order.
17901 (gnus-thread-total-score
17902 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17906 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17909 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17910 in the summary buffer.
17913 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17914 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17917 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17918 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17919 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17920 and/or newsgroup name.
17923 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17926 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17929 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17932 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17933 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17934 will automatically get the process mark.
17937 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17938 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17939 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17942 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17946 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17947 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17950 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17951 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17955 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17956 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17959 be able to post via DejaNews.
17962 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17965 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17966 allow them to be displayed separately.
17969 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17970 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17973 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17974 articles that match a certain From header.
17977 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17978 saving living summary buffers.
17981 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17982 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17985 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17986 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17989 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17990 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17993 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17994 (goto-char (point-min))
17995 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17996 (replace-match "`" t t))
17997 (goto-char (point-min))
17998 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17999 (replace-match "'" t t))
18000 (goto-char (point-min))
18001 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
18002 (replace-match "\"" t t))
18003 (goto-char (point-min))
18004 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
18005 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
18010 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
18012 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
18013 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
18014 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
18015 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
18019 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
18022 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
18023 numbers and match on the age of the article.
18027 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
18028 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
18029 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
18031 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
18032 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
18034 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
18035 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
18040 all commands that react to the process mark should push
18041 the current process mark set onto the stack.
18044 gnus-article-hide-pgp
18045 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
18047 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
18049 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
18050 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
18053 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
18054 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
18057 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
18061 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
18062 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
18065 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
18068 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
18071 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
18074 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
18078 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
18084 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
18087 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
18091 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
18092 X characters in the body.
18095 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
18098 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
18101 format spec to "tab" to a position.
18104 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
18107 command to display all dormant articles.
18110 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
18113 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
18114 to something someone else has said.
18117 Read Netscape discussion groups:
18118 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
18121 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
18122 the displayed version.
18125 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
18129 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
18132 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
18133 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
18134 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
18138 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
18139 in the head or body.
18142 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
18145 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
18148 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
18149 in a special, unique buffer.
18152 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
18155 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
18156 is less than a certain number of days old.
18159 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
18162 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
18165 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
18166 file, for instance.
18169 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
18170 in any other dummy thread will make Gnus highlight the
18171 dummy root instead of the first article.
18174 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
18175 topics for displaying.
18178 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
18179 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
18182 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
18185 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
18186 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
18187 summary buffer for each article.
18190 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
18193 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
18197 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
18200 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
18204 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
18207 gnus-ignored-mime-types to avoid seeing buttons for Vcards and the
18211 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
18214 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
18215 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
18218 `S D r' should allow expansion of aliases.
18221 Solve the halting problem.
18230 @section The Manual
18234 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
18235 either @code{texi2dvi}
18237 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
18238 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
18240 to get what you hold in your hands now.
18242 The following conventions have been used:
18247 This is a @samp{string}
18250 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
18253 This is a @file{file}
18256 This is a @code{symbol}
18260 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
18264 (setq flargnoze "yes")
18267 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
18270 (setq flumphel 'yes)
18273 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
18274 ever get them confused.
18278 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
18279 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
18280 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
18281 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
18282 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
18283 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
18284 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
18292 @section Terminology
18294 @cindex terminology
18299 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
18300 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
18301 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
18302 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
18303 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
18307 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
18308 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
18309 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
18310 not posting, and replying is not following up.
18314 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
18318 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
18323 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
18324 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
18325 is all done by the backends.
18329 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
18330 default, way of getting news.
18334 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
18335 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
18340 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
18341 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
18345 A message that has been posted as news.
18348 @cindex mail message
18349 A message that has been mailed.
18353 A mail message or news article
18357 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
18362 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
18367 A line from the head of an article.
18371 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
18372 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
18376 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
18377 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
18378 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
18379 normal @sc{head} format.
18383 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
18384 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
18385 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
18386 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
18387 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
18388 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
18390 @item killed groups
18391 @cindex killed groups
18392 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
18393 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
18395 @item zombie groups
18396 @cindex zombie groups
18397 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
18400 @cindex active file
18401 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
18402 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
18403 is rather large, as you might surmise.
18406 @cindex bogus groups
18407 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
18408 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
18409 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
18412 @cindex activating groups
18413 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
18414 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
18415 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
18419 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
18421 @item select method
18422 @cindex select method
18423 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
18426 @item virtual server
18427 @cindex virtual server
18428 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
18429 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
18430 whole is a virtual server.
18434 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
18435 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
18438 @item ephemeral groups
18439 @cindex ephemeral groups
18440 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
18441 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
18442 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
18445 @cindex solid groups
18446 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
18447 group buffer are solid groups.
18449 @item sparse articles
18450 @cindex sparse articles
18451 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18452 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18456 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18457 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18461 @cindex thread root
18462 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18463 articles in the thread.
18467 An article that has responses.
18471 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18475 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18476 specified by RFC1153.
18482 @node Customization
18483 @section Customization
18484 @cindex general customization
18486 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18487 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18488 for some quite common situations.
18491 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18492 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18493 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18494 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18498 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18499 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18501 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18502 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18503 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18507 @item gnus-read-active-file
18508 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18509 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18510 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18511 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18512 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18514 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18515 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18516 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18517 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18521 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18522 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18524 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18525 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18526 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18530 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18531 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18532 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18533 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18534 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18536 @item gnus-visible-headers
18537 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18538 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18539 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18540 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18542 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18543 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18545 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18546 '(gnus-article-hide-headers
18547 gnus-article-hide-signature
18548 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18551 @item gnus-use-full-window
18552 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18553 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18554 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18555 want to read them anyway.
18557 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18558 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18561 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18562 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18563 lines, which might save some time.
18567 @node Little Disk Space
18568 @subsection Little Disk Space
18571 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18572 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18576 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18577 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18578 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18579 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18582 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18583 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18584 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18585 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18586 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18592 @subsection Slow Machine
18593 @cindex slow machine
18595 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18596 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18598 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18599 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18601 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18602 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18603 summary buffer faster.
18605 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18606 processing a bit faster.
18610 @node Troubleshooting
18611 @section Troubleshooting
18612 @cindex troubleshooting
18614 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18622 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18625 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18626 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18630 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18631 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18632 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18633 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18636 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18640 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18641 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18642 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18643 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18644 something like that.
18647 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18650 @cindex reporting bugs
18652 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18654 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18655 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18656 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18657 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18659 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18660 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18661 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18662 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18665 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18666 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18667 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18668 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18669 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18670 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18672 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18673 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18674 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18677 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18678 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18680 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18681 @cindex ding mailing list
18682 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18683 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18687 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18688 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18690 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18691 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18692 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18693 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18696 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18697 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18698 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18699 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18700 and general methods of operation.
18703 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18704 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18705 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18706 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18707 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18708 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18709 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18710 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18711 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18715 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18716 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18717 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18718 @cindex utility functions
18720 @cindex internal variables
18722 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18723 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18724 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18728 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18729 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18730 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18732 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18733 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18734 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18736 @item gnus-group-real-name
18737 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18738 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18741 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18742 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18743 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18744 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18746 @item gnus-get-info
18747 @findex gnus-get-info
18748 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18750 @item gnus-group-unread
18751 @findex gnus-group-unread
18752 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18756 @findex gnus-active
18757 The active entry for @var{group}.
18759 @item gnus-set-active
18760 @findex gnus-set-active
18761 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18763 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18764 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18765 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18768 @item gnus-continuum-version
18769 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18770 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18771 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18774 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18775 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18776 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18778 @item gnus-news-group-p
18779 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18780 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18782 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18783 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18784 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18786 @item gnus-server-to-method
18787 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18788 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18790 @item gnus-server-equal
18791 @findex gnus-server-equal
18792 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18794 @item gnus-group-native-p
18795 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18796 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18798 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18799 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18800 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18802 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18803 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18804 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18806 @item group-group-find-parameter
18807 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18808 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18809 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18811 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18812 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18813 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18815 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18816 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18817 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18819 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18820 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18821 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18822 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18825 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18829 @item gnus-read-method
18830 @findex gnus-read-method
18831 Prompts the user for a select method.
18836 @node Backend Interface
18837 @subsection Backend Interface
18839 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18840 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18841 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18842 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18843 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18844 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18846 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18847 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18848 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18849 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18850 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18851 been opened, the function should fail.
18853 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18854 name. Take this example:
18858 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18859 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18862 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18863 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18865 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18866 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18867 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18869 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18870 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18871 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18873 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18874 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18875 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18876 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18877 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18878 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18881 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18882 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18883 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18884 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18887 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18890 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18893 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18894 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18895 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18896 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18897 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18898 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18902 @node Required Backend Functions
18903 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18907 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18909 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18910 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18911 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18912 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18914 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18915 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18916 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18917 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18919 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18920 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18921 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18922 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18923 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18924 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18925 number, do maximum fetches.
18927 Here's an example HEAD:
18930 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18931 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18932 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18933 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18934 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18935 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18936 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18938 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18939 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18940 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18944 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18945 these in the data buffer.
18947 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18951 head = error / valid-head
18952 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18953 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18954 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18955 header = <text> eol
18958 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18959 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18963 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18964 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18965 field = <text except TAB>
18968 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18972 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18974 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18975 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18977 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18978 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18979 server. In fact, it should do so.
18981 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18982 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18985 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18987 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18988 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18991 There should be no data returned.
18994 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18996 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18997 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18998 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18999 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
19001 There should be no data returned.
19004 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
19006 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
19007 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
19008 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
19009 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
19011 There should be no data returned.
19014 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
19016 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
19018 There should be no data returned.
19021 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
19023 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
19024 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
19025 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
19026 it would be nice if that were possible.
19028 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
19029 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
19030 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
19031 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
19032 into its article buffer.
19034 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
19035 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
19036 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
19037 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
19038 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
19039 on successful article retrieval.
19042 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
19044 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
19045 making @var{group} the current group.
19047 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
19050 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
19053 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
19056 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
19057 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
19058 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
19059 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
19060 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
19061 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
19062 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
19063 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
19066 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
19067 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
19068 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
19072 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19074 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
19075 a no-op on most backends.
19077 There should be no data returned.
19080 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
19082 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
19085 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
19088 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
19089 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
19092 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
19093 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
19096 active-file = *active-line
19097 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
19099 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
19102 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
19103 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
19104 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
19107 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
19109 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
19110 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
19111 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
19112 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
19113 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
19114 clear if the posting could not be completed.
19116 There should be no result data from this function.
19121 @node Optional Backend Functions
19122 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
19126 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
19128 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
19129 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
19130 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
19132 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
19133 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
19134 former is in the same format as the data from
19135 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
19136 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
19139 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
19143 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
19145 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
19146 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
19147 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
19148 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
19149 should return the (altered) group info.
19151 There should be no result data from this function.
19154 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
19156 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
19157 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
19158 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
19159 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
19160 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
19161 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
19162 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
19163 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
19165 There should be no result data from this function.
19168 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
19170 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
19171 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
19172 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as IMAP) however carry all
19173 information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to propagate
19174 the mark information to the server.
19176 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
19179 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
19182 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
19183 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
19184 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
19185 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
19186 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a
19187 symbol. Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
19188 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
19189 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
19190 not limit itself to theese.
19192 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
19193 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
19194 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
19195 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
19197 An example action list:
19200 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
19201 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
19202 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
19205 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
19206 mark on (currently not used for anything).
19208 There should be no result data from this function.
19210 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
19212 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
19213 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
19214 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
19215 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
19216 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
19218 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
19219 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
19220 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
19223 There should be no result data from this function.
19226 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
19228 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
19229 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
19230 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
19231 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
19232 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
19233 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
19234 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
19236 There should be no result data from this function.
19239 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
19241 The result data from this function should be a description of
19245 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
19247 description = <text>
19250 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
19252 The result data from this function should be the description of all
19253 groups available on the server.
19256 description-buffer = *description-line
19260 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
19262 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
19263 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
19264 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
19267 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
19269 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
19271 There should be no return data.
19274 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
19276 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
19277 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
19278 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
19279 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
19280 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
19283 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
19286 There should be no result data returned.
19289 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
19292 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
19293 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
19295 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
19296 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
19297 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
19298 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
19299 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
19300 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
19302 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
19303 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
19306 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19307 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19309 There should be no data returned.
19312 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
19314 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
19315 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
19316 this function in short order.
19318 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
19319 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
19321 There should be no data returned.
19324 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
19326 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
19327 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
19329 There should be no data returned.
19332 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
19334 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
19335 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
19336 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
19338 There should be no data returned.
19341 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
19343 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
19344 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
19346 There should be no data returned.
19351 @node Error Messaging
19352 @subsubsection Error Messaging
19354 @findex nnheader-report
19355 @findex nnheader-get-report
19356 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
19357 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
19358 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
19359 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
19360 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
19361 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
19364 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
19366 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
19369 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
19370 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
19371 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
19372 takes one argument---the server symbol.
19374 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
19375 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
19376 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
19379 @node Writing New Backends
19380 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
19382 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
19383 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
19384 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
19385 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
19386 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
19389 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
19390 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
19391 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
19393 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
19394 package called @code{nnoo}.
19396 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
19397 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
19403 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
19404 parameters. For instance:
19407 (nnoo-declare nndir
19411 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
19412 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
19415 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
19416 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
19417 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
19419 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
19420 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
19421 a function in those backends.
19424 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19425 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19426 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19429 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
19430 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
19431 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
19433 @item nnoo-define-basics
19434 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
19438 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19442 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
19443 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
19444 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
19446 @item nnoo-map-functions
19447 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
19448 functions from the parent backends.
19451 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19452 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19453 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
19456 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
19457 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
19458 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
19459 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
19462 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
19463 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
19464 haven't already been defined.
19470 nnmh-request-newgroups)
19474 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
19475 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
19476 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
19481 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
19484 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
19485 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
19489 (require 'nnheader)
19493 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19495 (nnoo-declare nndir
19498 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19499 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19500 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19502 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19503 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19506 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19507 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19508 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19510 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19511 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19513 ;;; Interface functions.
19515 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19517 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19518 (setq nndir-directory
19519 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19521 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19522 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19523 (push `(nndir-current-group
19524 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19526 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19527 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19529 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19531 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19532 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19533 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19534 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19535 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19539 nnmh-status-message
19541 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19547 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19548 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19550 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19551 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19552 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19553 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19555 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19556 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19561 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19564 The abilities can be:
19568 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19570 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19572 This backend supports both mail and news.
19574 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19577 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19578 articles and groups.
19580 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19581 true for almost all backends.
19582 @item prompt-address
19583 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19584 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19585 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19589 @node Mail-like Backends
19590 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19592 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19593 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19594 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19595 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19598 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19599 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19600 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19603 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19604 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19607 This function takes four parameters.
19611 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19614 @item exit-function
19615 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19617 @item temp-directory
19618 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19621 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19622 performed for one group only.
19625 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19626 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19627 find the article number assigned to this article.
19629 The function also uses the following variables:
19630 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19631 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19632 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19633 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19637 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19638 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19642 @node Score File Syntax
19643 @subsection Score File Syntax
19645 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19646 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19647 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19649 Here's a typical score file:
19653 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19660 BNF definition of a score file:
19663 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19664 element = rule / atom
19665 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19666 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19667 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19668 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19670 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19671 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19672 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19673 date-header = "date"
19674 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19675 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19676 score = "nil" / <integer>
19677 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19678 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19679 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19680 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19681 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19682 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19683 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19684 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19685 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19686 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19687 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19688 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19689 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19690 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19691 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19692 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19693 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19694 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19695 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19696 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19697 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19698 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19699 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19700 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19701 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19702 eval = "eval" space <form>
19703 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19706 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19709 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19710 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19711 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19712 one looong line, then that's ok.
19714 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19715 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19719 @subsection Headers
19721 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19722 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19723 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19724 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19726 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19727 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19728 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19729 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19730 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19731 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19732 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19734 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19735 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19736 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19737 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19738 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19740 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19747 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19748 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19750 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19751 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19752 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19753 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19755 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19759 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19762 is transformed into
19765 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19768 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19769 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19772 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19775 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19776 is slightly tricky:
19779 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19785 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19788 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19794 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19801 and is equal to the previous range.
19803 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19804 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19805 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19809 range = simple-range / normal-range
19810 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19811 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19812 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19813 number *[ " " contents ]
19816 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19817 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19818 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19819 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19820 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19825 @subsection Group Info
19827 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19828 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19829 describes the group.
19831 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19832 second is a more complex one:
19835 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
19837 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19838 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19840 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19843 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19844 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19845 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19846 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19847 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19848 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19849 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19850 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19851 this section is about.
19853 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19854 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19855 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19857 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19860 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19861 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19862 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19863 group = quote <string> quote
19864 ralevel = rank / level
19865 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19866 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19867 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19869 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19870 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19871 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19872 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19875 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19876 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19879 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19880 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19883 @item gnus-info-group
19884 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19885 @findex gnus-info-group
19886 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19887 Get/set the group name.
19889 @item gnus-info-rank
19890 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19891 @findex gnus-info-rank
19892 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19893 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19895 @item gnus-info-level
19896 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19897 @findex gnus-info-level
19898 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19899 Get/set the group level.
19901 @item gnus-info-score
19902 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19903 @findex gnus-info-score
19904 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19905 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19907 @item gnus-info-read
19908 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19909 @findex gnus-info-read
19910 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19911 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19913 @item gnus-info-marks
19914 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19915 @findex gnus-info-marks
19916 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19917 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19919 @item gnus-info-method
19920 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19921 @findex gnus-info-method
19922 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19923 Get/set the group select method.
19925 @item gnus-info-params
19926 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19927 @findex gnus-info-params
19928 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19929 Get/set the group parameters.
19932 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19933 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19935 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19936 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19937 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19938 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19941 @node Extended Interactive
19942 @subsection Extended Interactive
19943 @cindex interactive
19944 @findex gnus-interactive
19946 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19947 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19948 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19951 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19952 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19957 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19958 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19959 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19960 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19961 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19962 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19963 @code{interactive}.
19965 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19970 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19971 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19975 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19976 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19977 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19980 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19984 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19988 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19994 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19995 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19999 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
20000 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
20001 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
20003 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
20004 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
20005 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
20006 Gnus, that's very useful.
20008 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
20009 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
20010 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
20011 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
20012 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
20013 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
20014 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
20015 following function:
20018 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
20022 (,function ,@@args))
20026 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
20027 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
20028 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
20031 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
20032 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
20033 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
20035 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
20036 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
20037 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
20040 @node Various File Formats
20041 @subsection Various File Formats
20044 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
20045 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
20049 @node Active File Format
20050 @subsubsection Active File Format
20052 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
20053 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
20056 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
20059 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
20060 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
20061 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
20062 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
20063 no.general 1000 900 y
20066 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
20069 active = *group-line
20070 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
20071 group = <non-white-space string>
20073 high-number = <non-negative integer>
20074 low-number = <positive integer>
20075 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
20078 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
20079 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
20082 @node Newsgroups File Format
20083 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
20085 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
20086 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
20087 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
20090 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
20091 Here's the definition:
20095 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
20096 group = <non-white-space string>
20098 description = <string>
20103 @node Emacs for Heathens
20104 @section Emacs for Heathens
20106 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
20107 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
20108 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
20109 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
20110 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
20111 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
20112 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
20116 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
20117 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
20122 @subsection Keystrokes
20126 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
20129 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
20132 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
20133 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
20134 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
20135 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
20136 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
20137 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
20139 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
20140 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
20141 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
20142 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
20143 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
20144 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
20145 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
20147 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
20148 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
20149 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
20150 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
20151 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
20152 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
20153 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
20155 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
20156 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
20157 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
20158 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
20159 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
20165 @subsection Emacs Lisp
20167 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
20168 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
20169 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
20170 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
20172 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
20173 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
20174 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
20175 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
20176 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
20177 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
20178 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
20181 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
20182 write the following:
20185 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
20188 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
20189 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
20190 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
20193 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
20194 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
20195 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
20196 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
20197 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
20199 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
20200 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
20201 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
20205 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
20209 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
20212 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
20213 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
20216 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
20219 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
20220 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
20223 @include gnus-faq.texi