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4 @settitle T-gnus 6.15 Manual
10 * Gnus: (gnus). The newsreader Gnus.
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266 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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275 Copyright \copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000
276 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
279 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
280 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
281 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
282 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
283 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
284 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
285 License'' in the Emacs manual.
287 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
288 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
289 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
291 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
292 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
293 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
294 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
302 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
304 Copyright (C) 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
306 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
307 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
308 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with the
309 Invariant Sections being none, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
310 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
311 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
312 License'' in the Emacs manual.
314 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
315 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
316 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
318 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
319 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
320 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
321 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
327 @title T-gnus 6.15 Manual
329 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
332 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
333 Copyright @copyright{} 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
335 Permission is granted to copy, distribute and/or modify this document
336 under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.1 or
337 any later version published by the Free Software Foundation; with no
338 Invariant Sections, with the Front-Cover texts being ``A GNU
339 Manual'', and with the Back-Cover Texts as in (a) below. A copy of the
340 license is included in the section entitled ``GNU Free Documentation
341 License'' in the Emacs manual.
343 (a) The FSF's Back-Cover Text is: ``You have freedom to copy and modify
344 this GNU Manual, like GNU software. Copies published by the Free
345 Software Foundation raise funds for GNU development.''
347 This document is part of a collection distributed under the GNU Free
348 Documentation License. If you want to distribute this document
349 separately from the collection, you can do so by adding a copy of the
350 license to the document, as described in section 6 of the license.
359 @top The gnus Newsreader
363 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
364 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
365 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
368 T-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So T-gnus supports
369 your right to read strange messages including big images or other
370 various kinds of formats. T-gnus also supports
371 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
372 API. So T-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
373 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
375 This manual corresponds to T-gnus 6.15.
386 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
387 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
389 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
390 being accused of plagiarism:
392 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
393 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
394 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you
395 can even read news with it!
397 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
398 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
399 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
400 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
401 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
407 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
408 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
409 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
410 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
411 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
412 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
413 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
414 * Various:: General purpose settings.
415 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
416 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
417 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
418 * Key Index:: Key Index.
421 --- The Detailed Node Listing ---
425 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
426 * The First Time:: What does Gnus do the first time you start it?
427 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
428 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one Gnus active at a time.
429 * Fetching a Group:: Starting Gnus just to read a group.
430 * New Groups:: What is Gnus supposed to do with new groups?
431 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
432 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
433 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
434 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
435 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
439 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
440 * Subscription Methods:: What Gnus should do with new groups.
441 * Filtering New Groups:: Making Gnus ignore certain new groups.
445 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
446 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
447 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
448 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
449 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
450 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
451 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
452 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
453 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
454 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
455 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
456 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
457 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
458 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
459 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
460 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
461 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
465 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
466 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
467 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
471 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
472 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
473 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
474 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
475 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
479 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking Gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
480 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and Gnus.
481 * Group Timestamp:: Making Gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
482 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the Gnus files.
486 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
487 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
488 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
489 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
490 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
491 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
492 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
493 * Threading:: How threads are made.
494 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
495 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
496 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
497 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
498 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
499 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
500 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
501 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
502 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
503 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
504 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
505 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
506 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
507 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
508 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
509 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
510 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
511 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
512 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
513 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
514 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
516 Summary Buffer Format
518 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
519 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
520 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
521 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
525 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
526 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
528 Reply, Followup and Post
530 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
531 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
532 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
533 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
537 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
538 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
539 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
540 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
541 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
542 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
546 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
547 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
549 Customizing Threading
551 * Loose Threads:: How Gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
552 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
553 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
554 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
558 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
559 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
560 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
561 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
562 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
563 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
567 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
568 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
569 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
573 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
574 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
575 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
576 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
577 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
578 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
579 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
580 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
582 Alternative Approaches
584 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
585 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
587 Various Summary Stuff
589 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
590 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
591 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
592 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
596 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
597 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
598 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
599 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
600 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
604 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
605 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
606 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
607 * Archived Messages:: Where Gnus stores the messages you've sent.
608 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
609 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
610 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
614 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
615 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
616 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
617 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
618 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
619 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
620 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
624 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
625 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
626 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
627 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
628 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
629 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
630 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
634 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
635 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
639 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
640 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
641 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
642 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
643 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
644 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
645 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
646 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
647 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
648 * Washing Mail:: Removing cruft from the mail you get.
649 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
650 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
651 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
655 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
656 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
657 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
659 Choosing a Mail Backend
661 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
662 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
663 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
664 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
665 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
666 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
670 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
671 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
672 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
673 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
677 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
678 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
679 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
680 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
681 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
682 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
686 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
690 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
691 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
692 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
696 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
697 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
698 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
702 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
703 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
707 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
708 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
709 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
710 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
711 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
712 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
713 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
714 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
715 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
716 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
720 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
721 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
722 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
726 * Group Agent Commands::
727 * Summary Agent Commands::
728 * Server Agent Commands::
732 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
733 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
734 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
735 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
736 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
737 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
738 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
739 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
740 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
741 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
742 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
743 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
744 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
745 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
746 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
747 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
751 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
752 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
753 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
754 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
758 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
759 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
760 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
764 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
765 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
766 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
767 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
768 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
769 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
770 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
771 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
772 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
773 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
774 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
775 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
776 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
777 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
778 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
779 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
780 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
781 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
785 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
786 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
787 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
788 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
789 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
793 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
794 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
795 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
796 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
800 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
801 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
802 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
803 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
804 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
808 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
809 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
810 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
811 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
812 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
813 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
814 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
815 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
819 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
820 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
821 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
822 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
823 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
824 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
825 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
826 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
827 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
828 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
832 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
833 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
834 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
835 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
839 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
840 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
841 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
842 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
846 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
847 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
848 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
849 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
850 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
851 * Group Info:: The group info format.
852 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
853 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
854 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
858 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
859 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
860 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
861 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
862 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
863 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
867 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
868 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
872 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
873 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
879 @chapter Starting gnus
884 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
885 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
888 @findex gnus-other-frame
889 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
890 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
891 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
893 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
894 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
895 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
897 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
898 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
901 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
902 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
903 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
904 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
905 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
906 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
907 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
908 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
909 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
910 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
911 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
915 @node Finding the News
916 @section Finding the News
919 @vindex gnus-select-method
921 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
922 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
923 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
924 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are
927 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
928 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
931 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
934 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
937 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
940 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
941 certainly be much faster.
943 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
945 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
946 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
947 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
948 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
949 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
950 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
952 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
953 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
954 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
955 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
957 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
958 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
959 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
960 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
961 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
962 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
963 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting. (Note that this
964 will set @code{gnus-nntp-server}, which means that if you then @kbd{M-x
965 gnus} later in the same Emacs session, Gnus will contact the same
968 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
970 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
971 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
972 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
973 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
974 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
975 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
977 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
979 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
980 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
981 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
982 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
983 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
984 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
987 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
988 would typically set this variable to
991 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
996 @section The First Time
997 @cindex first time usage
999 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
1000 be subscribed by default.
1002 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
1003 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
1004 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
1005 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
1008 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
1009 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
1010 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
1012 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
1013 help you with most common problems.
1015 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
1016 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
1020 @node The Server is Down
1021 @section The Server is Down
1022 @cindex server errors
1024 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
1025 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
1026 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
1028 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
1029 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
1030 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
1031 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
1032 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
1033 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
1034 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
1036 @findex gnus-no-server
1037 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
1039 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
1040 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
1041 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
1042 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
1043 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
1044 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
1049 @section Slave Gnusae
1052 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
1053 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if you
1054 are using the two different gnusae to read from two different servers),
1055 that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
1057 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
1058 @code{.newsrc} file.
1060 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
1061 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and
1062 @dfn{slaves}. (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have
1063 taken out a copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in
1064 conjunction with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to
1065 me. Usage of the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer
1066 Applications}) will be much more expensive, of course.)
1068 Anyway, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
1069 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
1070 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
1071 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
1072 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
1073 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
1074 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
1075 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
1077 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
1078 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
1081 @node Fetching a Group
1082 @section Fetching a Group
1083 @cindex fetching a group
1085 @findex gnus-fetch-group
1086 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
1087 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
1088 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
1089 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
1090 It takes the group name as a parameter.
1096 @cindex subscription
1098 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
1099 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
1100 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
1101 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
1102 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
1103 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
1104 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
1105 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
1106 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1109 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
1110 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
1111 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
1115 @node Checking New Groups
1116 @subsection Checking New Groups
1118 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
1119 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
1120 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
1121 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
1122 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
1123 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
1124 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
1125 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
1126 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
1127 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
1129 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
1130 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
1131 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
1132 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
1133 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't
1134 work. I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server
1135 supports @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't.
1136 You could @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see
1137 whether it lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If
1138 it does, then it might work. (But there are servers that lists
1139 @samp{NEWGROUPS} without supporting the function properly.)
1141 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
1142 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
1143 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
1144 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
1145 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
1146 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
1149 @node Subscription Methods
1150 @subsection Subscription Methods
1152 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
1153 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
1154 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
1156 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
1157 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
1159 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
1163 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
1164 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
1165 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
1166 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
1167 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
1169 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
1170 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
1171 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
1172 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
1174 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1175 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
1176 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
1178 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1179 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
1180 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
1181 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
1182 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
1183 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into its
1184 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
1185 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
1186 up. Or something like that.
1188 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
1189 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
1190 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask
1191 you about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe
1192 to will be subscribed hierarchically.
1194 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
1195 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
1196 Kill all new groups.
1198 @item gnus-subscribe-topics
1199 @vindex gnus-subscribe-topics
1200 Put the groups into the topic that has a matching @code{subscribe} topic
1201 parameter (@pxref{Topic Parameters}). For instance, a @code{subscribe}
1202 topic parameter that looks like
1208 will mean that all groups that match that regex will be subscribed under
1211 If no topics match the groups, the groups will be subscribed in the
1216 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
1217 A closely related variable is
1218 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
1219 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
1220 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
1221 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
1224 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
1225 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
1226 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
1227 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
1230 @node Filtering New Groups
1231 @subsection Filtering New Groups
1233 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
1234 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
1235 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
1238 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
1241 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
1242 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
1243 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
1244 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
1245 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
1246 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
1247 subscribing these groups.
1248 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
1249 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
1251 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
1252 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
1253 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
1254 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
1255 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
1256 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
1257 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
1258 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
1260 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
1261 Yet another variable that meddles here is
1262 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
1263 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
1264 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
1265 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
1266 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
1267 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
1268 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
1269 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
1271 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
1272 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
1275 @node Changing Servers
1276 @section Changing Servers
1277 @cindex changing servers
1279 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
1280 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
1281 very flaky and you want to use another.
1283 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
1284 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
1288 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
1289 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
1290 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
1291 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
1294 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
1295 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
1296 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
1297 functions more than absolutely necessary.
1299 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
1300 @findex gnus-change-server
1301 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
1302 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
1303 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
1304 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
1305 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
1307 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1308 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
1309 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
1310 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
1311 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
1313 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1314 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1315 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
1316 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
1317 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
1318 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
1320 After changing servers, you @strong{must} move the cache hierarchy away,
1321 since the cached articles will have wrong article numbers, which will
1322 affect which articles Gnus thinks are read.
1326 @section Startup Files
1327 @cindex startup files
1332 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
1333 information is traditionally stored in this file.
1335 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{gnus}. In addition to
1336 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
1337 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
1338 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
1339 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{gnus} would read whichever one of these
1340 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
1341 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
1343 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
1344 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
1345 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
1346 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
1347 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
1348 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
1350 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
1351 @vindex gnus-read-newsrc-file
1352 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
1353 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
1354 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
1355 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
1356 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right? Similarly, setting
1357 @code{gnus-read-newsrc-file} to @code{nil} makes gnus ignore the
1358 @file{.newsrc} file and any @file{.newsrc-SERVER} files, which is
1359 convenient if you have a tendency to use Netscape once in a while.
1361 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
1362 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
1363 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
1364 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
1365 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
1366 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
1367 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
1368 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
1369 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
1370 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
1371 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
1372 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
1374 @vindex gnus-startup-file
1375 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
1376 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
1377 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
1379 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
1380 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
1381 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
1382 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
1383 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
1384 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
1385 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
1386 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
1387 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
1388 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
1391 (defun turn-off-backup ()
1392 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
1394 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1395 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
1398 @vindex gnus-init-file
1399 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
1400 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
1401 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
1402 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
1403 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
1404 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
1405 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
1406 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
1407 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
1413 @cindex dribble file
1416 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
1417 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
1418 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
1419 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
1420 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
1423 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
1424 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file is
1427 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
1428 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
1429 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
1431 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
1432 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
1433 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
1434 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
1435 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
1436 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
1438 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
1439 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
1440 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
1443 @node The Active File
1444 @section The Active File
1446 @cindex ignored groups
1448 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
1449 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
1450 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
1452 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
1453 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
1454 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
1455 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
1456 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
1457 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
1458 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
1461 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
1462 @c if you set it to anything else.
1464 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
1466 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
1467 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
1468 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
1470 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
1471 you actually subscribe to.
1473 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
1474 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
1475 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
1476 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
1478 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
1479 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
1480 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
1481 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
1482 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
1483 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
1485 Some news servers (old versions of Leafnode and old versions of INN, for
1486 instance) do not support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group}. For these
1487 servers, @code{nil} is probably the most efficient value for this
1490 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
1491 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
1492 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
1493 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
1494 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
1495 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
1497 If you think that starting up Gnus takes too long, try all the three
1498 different values for this variable and see what works best for you.
1500 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
1501 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1503 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1504 secondary select methods.
1507 @node Startup Variables
1508 @section Startup Variables
1512 @item gnus-load-hook
1513 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1514 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1515 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1516 times you start gnus.
1518 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1519 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1520 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1522 @item gnus-startup-hook
1523 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1524 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1526 @item gnus-started-hook
1527 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1528 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1531 @item gnus-setup-news-hook
1532 @vindex gnus-setup-news-hook
1533 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1534 generating the group buffer.
1536 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1537 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1538 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1539 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1540 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1541 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1542 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1543 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1545 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1546 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1547 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1548 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1549 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1550 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1552 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1553 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1554 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1556 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1557 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1558 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1560 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1561 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1562 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1563 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1568 @node The Group Buffer
1569 @chapter The Group Buffer
1570 @cindex group buffer
1572 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1573 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1574 long as gnus is active.
1578 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1579 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1580 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1581 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1582 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1583 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1584 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1585 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1591 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1592 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1593 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1594 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1595 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1596 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1597 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1598 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1599 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1600 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1601 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1602 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1603 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1604 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1605 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1606 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1607 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1611 @node Group Buffer Format
1612 @section Group Buffer Format
1615 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1616 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1617 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1621 @node Group Line Specification
1622 @subsection Group Line Specification
1623 @cindex group buffer format
1625 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1626 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1628 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1631 25: news.announce.newusers
1632 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1637 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1638 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1639 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1640 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1642 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1643 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1644 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1645 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1646 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1647 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1649 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1651 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1652 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1653 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1654 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1657 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1658 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1659 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1661 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1666 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1669 Whether the group is subscribed.
1672 Level of subscribedness.
1675 Number of unread articles.
1678 Number of dormant articles.
1681 Number of ticked articles.
1684 Number of read articles.
1687 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1688 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1691 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1694 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1703 Newsgroup description.
1706 @samp{m} if moderated.
1709 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1718 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1722 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1725 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1726 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1727 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1728 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1729 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.e.gnus}.
1732 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1734 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1738 @samp{#} (@code{gnus-process-mark}) if the group is process marked.
1741 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1745 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1746 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1747 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1748 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1749 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1750 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1755 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1756 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1757 group, or a bogus native group.
1760 @node Group Modeline Specification
1761 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1762 @cindex group modeline
1764 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1765 The mode line can be changed by setting
1766 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1767 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1771 The native news server.
1773 The native select method.
1777 @node Group Highlighting
1778 @subsection Group Highlighting
1779 @cindex highlighting
1780 @cindex group highlighting
1782 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1783 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1784 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1785 that look like @code{(@var{form} . @var{face})}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1786 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1788 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1792 (cond (window-system
1793 (setq custom-background-mode 'light)
1794 (defface my-group-face-1
1795 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))) "First group face")
1796 (defface my-group-face-2
1797 '((t (:foreground "DarkSeaGreen4" :bold t))) "Second group face")
1798 (defface my-group-face-3
1799 '((t (:foreground "Green4" :bold t))) "Third group face")
1800 (defface my-group-face-4
1801 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))) "Fourth group face")
1802 (defface my-group-face-5
1803 '((t (:foreground "Blue" :bold t))) "Fifth group face")))
1805 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1806 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1807 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1808 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1809 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1810 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1813 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1815 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1822 The number of unread articles in the group.
1826 Whether the group is a mail group.
1828 The level of the group.
1830 The score of the group.
1832 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1834 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1835 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1837 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1838 topic being inserted.
1841 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1842 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1843 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1845 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1846 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1847 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1848 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1849 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1852 @node Group Maneuvering
1853 @section Group Maneuvering
1854 @cindex group movement
1856 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1857 expected, hopefully.
1863 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1864 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1865 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1871 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1872 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1873 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1877 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1878 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1882 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1883 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1887 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1888 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1889 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1893 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1894 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1895 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1898 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1904 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1905 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1906 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1911 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1912 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1913 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1917 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1918 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1919 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1922 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1923 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1924 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1925 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1929 @node Selecting a Group
1930 @section Selecting a Group
1931 @cindex group selection
1936 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1937 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1938 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1939 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1940 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1941 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1942 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1943 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1944 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1945 negative, Gnus fetches the @code{abs(@var{N})} oldest articles.
1947 Thus, @kbd{SPC} enters the group normally, @kbd{C-u SPC} offers old
1948 articles, @kbd{C-u 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 newest articles, and @kbd{C-u
1949 - 4 2 SPC} fetches the 42 oldest ones.
1951 When you are in the group (in the Summary buffer), you can type
1952 @kbd{M-g} to fetch new articles, or @kbd{C-u M-g} to also show the old
1957 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1958 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1959 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1960 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1961 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1965 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1966 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1967 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1968 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1969 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1970 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1971 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1972 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1973 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1974 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1977 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1978 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1979 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1980 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1981 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1984 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1985 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1986 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1987 doing any processing of its contents
1988 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1989 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1990 manner will have no permanent effects.
1994 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1995 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1996 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1997 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1998 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1999 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
2000 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
2001 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
2004 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
2005 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
2006 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
2007 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
2012 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
2013 full summary buffer.
2016 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
2019 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
2024 This variable can also be a function. In that case, that function will
2025 be called to place point on a subject line, and/or select some article.
2026 Useful functions include:
2029 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-subject
2030 Place point on the subject line of the first unread article, but
2031 don't select the article.
2033 @item gnus-summary-first-unread-article
2034 Select the first unread article.
2036 @item gnus-summary-best-unread-article
2037 Select the highest-scored unread article.
2041 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
2042 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
2043 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
2047 @node Subscription Commands
2048 @section Subscription Commands
2049 @cindex subscription
2057 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
2058 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
2059 Toggle subscription to the current group
2060 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2066 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
2067 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
2068 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
2069 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
2075 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
2076 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
2077 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
2083 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
2084 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
2087 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
2088 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
2089 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
2090 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
2091 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
2097 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
2098 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
2102 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
2103 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
2106 @kindex S C-k (Group)
2107 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
2108 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
2109 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
2110 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
2111 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
2112 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
2113 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
2114 @file{.newsrc} file.
2118 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
2128 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
2129 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
2130 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
2131 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
2132 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
2133 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group from
2138 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
2139 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
2140 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
2144 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
2145 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
2146 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
2148 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2149 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2150 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
2151 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
2152 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
2153 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
2160 @section Group Levels
2164 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
2165 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
2166 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
2167 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
2168 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
2170 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
2176 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
2177 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
2178 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
2179 prompted for a level.
2182 @vindex gnus-level-killed
2183 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
2184 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
2185 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
2186 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
2187 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
2188 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
2189 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
2190 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
2191 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
2192 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
2193 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
2194 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
2195 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
2196 reasons of efficiency.
2198 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
2199 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
2201 Maybe the following description of the default behavior of Gnus helps to
2202 understand what these levels are all about. By default, Gnus shows you
2203 subscribed nonempty groups, but by hitting @kbd{L} you can have it show
2204 empty subscribed groups and unsubscribed groups, too. Type @kbd{l} to
2205 go back to showing nonempty subscribed groups again. Thus, unsubscribed
2206 groups are hidden, in a way.
2208 Zombie and killed groups are similar to unsubscribed groups in that they
2209 are hidden by default. But they are different from subscribed and
2210 unsubscribed groups in that Gnus doesn't ask the news server for
2211 information (number of messages, number of unread messages) on zombie
2212 and killed groups. Normally, you use @kbd{C-k} to kill the groups you
2213 aren't interested in. If most groups are killed, Gnus is faster.
2215 Why does Gnus distinguish between zombie and killed groups? Well, when
2216 a new group arrives on the server, Gnus by default makes it a zombie
2217 group. This means that you are normally not bothered with new groups,
2218 but you can type @kbd{A z} to get a list of all new groups. Subscribe
2219 the ones you like and kill the ones you don't want. (@kbd{A k} shows a
2220 list of killed groups.)
2222 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
2223 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
2224 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
2226 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
2227 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
2228 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
2229 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
2230 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
2231 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
2232 relevant valid ranges.
2234 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
2235 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
2236 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
2237 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
2238 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
2239 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
2242 If this variable is @code{best}, Gnus will make the next newsgroup the
2243 one with the best level.
2245 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
2246 All groups with a level less than or equal to
2247 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
2250 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
2251 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
2252 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
2253 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
2256 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
2257 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
2258 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
2259 use this level as the ``work'' level.
2261 @vindex gnus-activate-level
2262 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
2263 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
2264 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
2265 to 5. The default is 6.
2269 @section Group Score
2274 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
2275 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
2276 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
2279 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can have Gnus assign a score
2280 to each group through the mechanism described below. You can then sort
2281 the group buffer based on this score. Alternatively, you can sort on
2282 score and then level. (Taken together, the level and the score is
2283 called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group that is on level 4 and has
2284 a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group on level 5 that has a score
2285 of 300. (The level is the most significant part and the score is the
2286 least significant part.))
2288 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
2289 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
2290 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
2291 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
2292 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
2293 action after each summary exit, you can add
2294 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
2295 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
2296 slow things down somewhat.
2299 @node Marking Groups
2300 @section Marking Groups
2301 @cindex marking groups
2303 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
2304 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
2305 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
2306 bidding on those groups.
2308 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
2309 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
2310 with the process mark and then execute the command.
2318 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
2319 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
2325 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
2326 Remove the mark from the current group
2327 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
2331 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
2332 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
2336 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
2337 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
2341 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
2342 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
2346 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
2347 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
2348 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
2351 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
2353 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
2354 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
2355 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
2356 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
2357 the command to be executed.
2360 @node Foreign Groups
2361 @section Foreign Groups
2362 @cindex foreign groups
2364 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
2365 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
2366 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
2367 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
2374 @findex gnus-group-make-group
2375 @cindex making groups
2376 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
2377 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
2378 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
2382 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
2383 @cindex renaming groups
2384 Rename the current group to something else
2385 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
2386 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
2392 @findex gnus-group-customize
2393 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
2397 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
2398 @cindex renaming groups
2399 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
2400 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
2404 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
2405 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
2406 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
2410 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
2411 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
2412 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
2416 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
2418 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
2419 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
2424 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
2425 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
2429 @cindex (ding) archive
2430 @cindex archive group
2431 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
2432 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
2433 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
2434 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
2435 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
2436 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
2437 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
2441 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
2443 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
2444 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
2445 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
2446 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
2450 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
2452 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
2453 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
2454 @xref{Anything Groups}.
2458 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
2459 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
2461 Make a group based on some file or other
2462 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2463 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
2464 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
2465 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
2466 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{nsmail} and @code{forward}.
2467 If you run this command without a prefix, Gnus will guess at the file
2468 type. @xref{Document Groups}.
2472 @vindex gnus-useful-groups
2473 @findex gnus-group-make-useful-group
2474 Create one of the groups mentioned in @code{gnus-useful-groups}
2475 (@code{gnus-group-make-useful-group}).
2479 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
2484 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
2485 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
2486 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
2487 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
2488 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
2489 @xref{Web Searches}.
2491 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
2492 to a particular group by using a match string like
2493 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
2496 @kindex G DEL (Group)
2497 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
2498 This function will delete the current group
2499 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
2500 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
2501 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
2502 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
2503 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
2507 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
2508 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
2509 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
2513 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
2514 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
2515 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
2518 @xref{Select Methods}, for more information on the various select
2521 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
2522 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
2523 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
2524 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
2525 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
2526 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
2530 @node Group Parameters
2531 @section Group Parameters
2532 @cindex group parameters
2534 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
2535 Here's an example group parameter list:
2538 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
2542 We see that each element consists of a "dotted pair"---the thing before
2543 the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value. All the
2544 parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs, which are
2545 not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
2547 The following group parameters can be used:
2552 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
2555 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
2558 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
2559 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
2560 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
2561 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
2562 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
2564 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
2565 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
2566 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
2567 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
2568 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
2569 list address instead.
2573 Address used when doing @kbd{a} in that group.
2576 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2579 It is totally ignored
2580 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2581 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2583 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2584 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2585 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2586 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2587 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2589 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2590 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2591 sending the message.
2595 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2596 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2597 of whether it has any unread articles.
2599 @item broken-reply-to
2600 @cindex broken-reply-to
2601 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2602 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2603 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2604 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2605 broken behavior. So there!
2609 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2610 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2614 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2615 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2616 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2621 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2622 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2623 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2624 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2625 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2626 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2627 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2631 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2632 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2633 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2636 @cindex total-expire
2637 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2638 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2639 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2640 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2645 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2646 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2647 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2648 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2649 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2650 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2653 @cindex score file group parameter
2654 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2655 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2656 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2659 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2660 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2661 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2662 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2665 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2666 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2667 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2668 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2671 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2672 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2676 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2679 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2684 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")}
2685 are arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by
2686 gnus, but provide a place for you to store information on particular
2690 Elements that look like @code{(charset . iso-8859-1)} will make
2691 @code{iso-8859-1} the default charset; that is, the charset that will be
2692 used for all articles that do not specify a charset.
2694 @item (@var{variable} @var{form})
2695 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2696 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2697 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2698 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2699 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2700 @code{eval}ed there.
2702 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2703 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2704 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2705 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2706 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2709 You can store additional posting style information for this group only
2710 here (@pxref{Posting Styles}). The format is that of an entry in the
2711 @code{gnus-posting-styles} alist, except that there's no regexp matching
2712 the group name (of course). Style elements in this group parameter will
2713 take precedence over the ones found in @code{gnus-posting-styles}.
2715 For instance, if you want a funky name and signature in this group only,
2716 instead of hacking @code{gnus-posting-styles}, you could put something
2717 like this in the group parameters:
2722 (signature "Funky Signature"))
2726 An item like @code{(banner . "regex")} causes any part of an article
2727 that matches the regular expression "regex" to be stripped. Instead of
2728 "regex", you can also use the symbol @code{signature} which strips the
2729 last signature or any of the elements of the alist
2730 @code{gnus-article-banner-alist}.
2734 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2735 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2739 @node Listing Groups
2740 @section Listing Groups
2741 @cindex group listing
2743 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2751 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2752 List all groups that have unread articles
2753 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2754 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2755 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2756 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2763 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2764 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2765 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2766 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2767 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2768 unsubscribed groups).
2772 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2773 List all unread groups on a specific level
2774 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2775 with no unread articles.
2779 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2780 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2781 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2782 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2787 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2788 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2792 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2793 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2794 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2798 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2799 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2803 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2804 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2805 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2806 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2807 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2808 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2809 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2810 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2814 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2815 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2816 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2820 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2821 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2822 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2826 @findex gnus-group-list-cached
2827 List all groups with cached articles (@code{gnus-group-list-cached}).
2831 @findex gnus-group-list-dormant
2832 List all groups with dormant articles (@code{gnus-group-list-dormant}).
2836 @findex gnus-group-list-limit
2837 List groups limited within the current selection
2838 (@code{gnus-group-list-limit}).
2842 @findex gnus-group-list-flush
2843 Flush groups from the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-flush}).
2847 @findex gnus-group-list-plus
2848 List groups plus the current selection (@code{gnus-group-list-plus}).
2852 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2853 @cindex visible group parameter
2854 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2855 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2856 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2857 get the same effect.
2859 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2860 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2861 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2862 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2863 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2866 @node Sorting Groups
2867 @section Sorting Groups
2868 @cindex sorting groups
2870 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2871 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2872 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2873 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2874 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2875 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2880 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2881 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2882 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2884 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2885 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2886 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2888 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2889 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2890 Sort by group level.
2892 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2893 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2894 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2896 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2897 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2898 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2899 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2901 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2902 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2903 Sort by number of unread articles.
2905 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2906 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2907 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2909 @item gnus-group-sort-by-server
2910 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-server
2911 Sort alphabetically on the Gnus server name.
2916 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2917 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2921 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2922 some sorting criteria:
2926 @kindex G S a (Group)
2927 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2928 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2929 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2932 @kindex G S u (Group)
2933 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2934 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2935 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2938 @kindex G S l (Group)
2939 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2940 Sort the group buffer by group level
2941 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2944 @kindex G S v (Group)
2945 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2946 Sort the group buffer by group score
2947 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2950 @kindex G S r (Group)
2951 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2952 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2953 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2956 @kindex G S m (Group)
2957 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2958 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2959 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2963 All the commands below obey the process/prefix convention
2964 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2966 When given a symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}), all these
2967 commands will sort in reverse order.
2969 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2973 @kindex G P a (Group)
2974 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2975 Sort the groups alphabetically by group name
2976 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2979 @kindex G P u (Group)
2980 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2981 Sort the groups by the number of unread articles
2982 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2985 @kindex G P l (Group)
2986 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2987 Sort the groups by group level
2988 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2991 @kindex G P v (Group)
2992 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2993 Sort the groups by group score
2994 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2997 @kindex G P r (Group)
2998 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2999 Sort the groups by group rank
3000 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3003 @kindex G P m (Group)
3004 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
3005 Sort the groups alphabetically by backend name
3006 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
3012 @node Group Maintenance
3013 @section Group Maintenance
3014 @cindex bogus groups
3019 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
3020 Find bogus groups and delete them
3021 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
3025 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
3026 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
3027 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
3028 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
3029 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
3033 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
3034 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
3035 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
3036 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
3039 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
3040 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
3041 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
3042 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
3047 @node Browse Foreign Server
3048 @section Browse Foreign Server
3049 @cindex foreign servers
3050 @cindex browsing servers
3055 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
3056 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
3057 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
3058 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
3061 @findex gnus-browse-mode
3062 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
3063 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
3064 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
3066 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
3071 @findex gnus-group-next-group
3072 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
3076 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
3077 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
3080 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
3081 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
3082 Enter the current group and display the first article
3083 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
3086 @kindex RET (Browse)
3087 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
3088 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
3092 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
3093 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
3094 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
3100 @findex gnus-browse-exit
3101 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
3105 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
3106 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
3107 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
3112 @section Exiting gnus
3113 @cindex exiting gnus
3115 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
3120 @findex gnus-group-suspend
3121 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit gnus,
3122 but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure why this
3123 is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
3127 @findex gnus-group-exit
3128 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
3129 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
3133 @findex gnus-group-quit
3134 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files (@code{gnus-group-quit}).
3135 The dribble file will be saved, though (@pxref{Auto Save}).
3138 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
3139 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
3140 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
3141 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
3142 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
3147 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
3148 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
3149 trying to customize meta-variables.
3154 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
3155 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
3156 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
3162 @section Group Topics
3165 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
3166 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
3167 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
3168 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
3169 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
3170 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
3174 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
3175 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
3186 2: alt.religion.emacs
3189 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3191 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3192 13: comp.sources.unix
3195 @findex gnus-topic-mode
3197 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
3198 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
3199 is a toggling command.)
3201 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
3202 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
3203 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
3204 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
3207 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
3208 the hook for the group mode:
3211 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
3215 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
3216 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
3217 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
3218 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
3219 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
3223 @node Topic Variables
3224 @subsection Topic Variables
3225 @cindex topic variables
3227 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
3228 really neat, I think.
3230 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
3231 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
3232 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3245 Number of groups in the topic.
3247 Number of unread articles in the topic.
3249 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
3252 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
3253 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
3254 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
3257 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
3258 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
3260 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
3261 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
3262 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
3265 @node Topic Commands
3266 @subsection Topic Commands
3267 @cindex topic commands
3269 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
3270 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
3271 definitions slightly.
3277 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
3278 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
3279 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
3283 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
3284 Move the current group to some other topic
3285 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3286 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3290 @findex gnus-topic-jump-to-topic
3291 Go to a topic (@code{gnus-topic-jump-to-topic}).
3295 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
3296 Copy the current group to some other topic
3297 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
3298 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3302 @findex gnus-topic-hide-topic
3303 Hide the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-hide-topic}). If given
3304 a prefix, hide the topic permanently.
3308 @findex gnus-topic-show-topic
3309 Show the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-show-topic}). If given
3310 a prefix, show the topic permanently.
3314 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
3315 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
3316 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
3317 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
3318 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
3319 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
3320 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
3323 This command uses the process/prefix convention
3324 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3328 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
3329 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3330 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
3334 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
3335 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
3336 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
3340 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
3341 Toggle hiding empty topics
3342 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
3346 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
3347 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
3348 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
3351 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
3352 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
3353 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
3354 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
3358 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
3360 @findex gnus-topic-indent
3361 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3362 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
3363 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
3366 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
3367 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
3368 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
3369 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
3373 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
3375 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
3376 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
3377 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
3378 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
3379 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
3380 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
3383 @kindex C-c C-x (Topic)
3384 @findex gnus-topic-expire-articles
3385 Run all expirable articles in the current group or topic through the expiry
3386 process (if any) (@code{gnus-topic-expire-articles}).
3390 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
3391 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
3392 topic will be removed along with the topic.
3396 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
3397 Yank the previously killed group or topic
3398 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
3403 @findex gnus-topic-rename
3404 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
3407 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
3408 @findex gnus-topic-delete
3409 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
3413 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
3414 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
3415 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
3419 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
3420 @cindex group parameters
3421 @cindex topic parameters
3423 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
3424 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
3430 @subsection Topic Sorting
3431 @cindex topic sorting
3433 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
3439 @kindex T S a (Topic)
3440 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
3441 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
3442 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
3445 @kindex T S u (Topic)
3446 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
3447 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
3448 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
3451 @kindex T S l (Topic)
3452 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
3453 Sort the current topic by group level
3454 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
3457 @kindex T S v (Topic)
3458 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
3459 Sort the current topic by group score
3460 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
3463 @kindex T S r (Topic)
3464 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
3465 Sort the current topic by group rank
3466 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
3469 @kindex T S m (Topic)
3470 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
3471 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
3472 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
3476 @xref{Sorting Groups}, for more information about group sorting.
3479 @node Topic Topology
3480 @subsection Topic Topology
3481 @cindex topic topology
3484 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
3490 2: alt.religion.emacs
3493 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3495 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3496 13: comp.sources.unix
3499 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
3500 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
3501 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
3506 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
3507 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
3511 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
3512 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
3513 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
3514 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
3515 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
3516 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
3518 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
3519 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
3520 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
3523 @node Topic Parameters
3524 @subsection Topic Parameters
3525 @cindex topic parameters
3527 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
3528 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
3529 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
3531 In addition, the following parameters are only valid as topic
3536 When subscribing new groups by topic (@pxref{Subscription Methods}), the
3537 @code{subscribe} topic parameter says what groups go in what topic. Its
3538 value should be a regexp to match the groups that should go in that
3543 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
3544 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
3545 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
3546 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
3552 2: alt.religion.emacs
3556 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
3558 8: comp.binaries.fractals
3559 13: comp.sources.unix
3563 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
3564 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
3565 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
3566 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
3567 @* @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
3568 . "religion.SCORE")}.
3570 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
3571 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
3572 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
3573 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
3574 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
3576 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
3577 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
3578 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
3579 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
3580 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
3581 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
3582 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
3583 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
3586 @node Misc Group Stuff
3587 @section Misc Group Stuff
3590 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
3591 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
3592 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
3593 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
3600 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
3601 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
3602 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
3606 @findex gnus-group-post-news
3607 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
3608 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
3612 @findex gnus-group-mail
3613 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
3617 Variables for the group buffer:
3621 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
3622 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
3623 is called after the group buffer has been
3626 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
3627 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3628 is called after the group buffer is
3629 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
3632 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
3633 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
3634 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
3635 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
3637 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3638 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
3639 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
3640 whether they are empty or not.
3642 @item gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3643 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3644 An alist of method and the charset for group names. It is used to show
3645 non-ASCII group names.
3649 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-method-alist
3650 '(((nntp "news.com.cn") . cn-gb-2312)))
3653 @item gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3654 @vindex gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3655 An alist of regexp of group name and the charset for group names.
3656 It is used to show non-ASCII group names.
3660 (setq gnus-group-name-charset-group-alist
3661 '(("\\.com\\.cn:" . cn-gb-2312)))
3666 @node Scanning New Messages
3667 @subsection Scanning New Messages
3668 @cindex new messages
3669 @cindex scanning new news
3675 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
3676 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
3677 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
3678 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
3679 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
3680 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
3685 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
3686 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
3687 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
3688 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3689 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3690 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3691 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3693 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3694 @cindex activating groups
3696 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3697 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3702 @findex gnus-group-restart
3703 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3704 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3705 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3709 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3710 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3712 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3713 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3717 @node Group Information
3718 @subsection Group Information
3719 @cindex group information
3720 @cindex information on groups
3727 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3728 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3731 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3732 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3733 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3734 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3735 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3736 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3737 for fetching the file.
3739 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3740 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3744 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3746 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3747 @cindex describing groups
3748 @cindex group description
3749 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3750 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3751 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3755 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3756 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3757 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3764 @findex gnus-version
3765 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3769 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3770 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3773 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3776 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3777 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3781 @node Group Timestamp
3782 @subsection Group Timestamp
3784 @cindex group timestamps
3786 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3787 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3788 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3791 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3794 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3796 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3797 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3800 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3801 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3804 This will result in lines looking like:
3807 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3808 0: custom 19961002T012713
3811 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3812 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3816 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3817 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3822 @subsection File Commands
3823 @cindex file commands
3829 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3830 @vindex gnus-init-file
3831 @cindex reading init file
3832 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3833 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3837 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3838 @cindex saving .newsrc
3839 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3840 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3841 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3844 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3845 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3846 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3851 @node The Summary Buffer
3852 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3853 @cindex summary buffer
3855 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3856 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3858 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3859 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3861 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3864 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3865 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3866 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3867 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3868 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3869 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3870 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3871 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3872 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3873 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3874 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3875 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3876 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3877 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3878 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3879 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3880 * MIME Commands:: Doing MIMEy things with the articles.
3881 * Charsets:: Character set issues.
3882 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3883 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3884 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3885 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3886 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3887 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3888 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3889 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer,
3890 or reselecting the current group.
3891 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3892 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3893 * Security:: Decrypt and Verify.
3897 @node Summary Buffer Format
3898 @section Summary Buffer Format
3899 @cindex summary buffer format
3903 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3904 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3905 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3911 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3912 * To From Newsgroups:: How to not display your own name.
3913 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3914 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3917 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3918 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3919 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3920 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3921 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3922 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3923 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3924 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3925 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3926 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3927 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3928 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3929 other function instead:
3932 (setq gnus-extract-address-components
3933 'mail-extract-address-components)
3936 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3937 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3938 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3939 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3942 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3943 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3945 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3946 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3947 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3948 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3949 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3951 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3953 The following format specification characters are understood:
3959 Subject string. List identifiers stripped,
3960 @code{gnus-list-identifies}. @xref{Article Hiding}.
3962 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3963 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3964 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3966 Full @code{From} header.
3968 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3970 The name, code @code{To} header or the @code{Newsgroups} header
3971 (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
3973 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3974 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3975 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3976 may be more thorough.
3978 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3981 Number of lines in the article.
3983 Number of characters in the article. This specifier is not supported in some
3984 methods (like nnfolder).
3986 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3988 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3989 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3991 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3992 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3994 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3995 for adopted articles.
3997 One space for each thread level.
3999 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
4004 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
4005 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
4009 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
4011 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
4012 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
4013 default level. If the difference between
4014 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
4015 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
4023 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
4025 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
4031 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
4032 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
4034 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
4035 article has any children.
4041 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
4042 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
4043 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
4044 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
4045 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
4046 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
4049 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
4050 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
4051 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
4052 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
4053 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
4054 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
4056 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
4057 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
4059 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
4062 @node To From Newsgroups
4063 @subsection To From Newsgroups
4067 In some groups (particularly in archive groups), the @code{From} header
4068 isn't very interesting, since all the articles there are written by
4069 you. To display the information in the @code{To} or @code{Newsgroups}
4070 headers instead, you need to decide three things: What information to
4071 gather; where to display it; and when to display it.
4075 @vindex gnus-extra-headers
4076 The reading of extra header information is controlled by the
4077 @code{gnus-extra-headers}. This is a list of header symbols. For
4081 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4082 '(To Newsgroups X-Newsreader))
4085 This will result in Gnus trying to obtain these three headers, and
4086 storing it in header structures for later easy retrieval.
4089 @findex gnus-extra-header
4090 The value of these extra headers can be accessed via the
4091 @code{gnus-extra-header} function. Here's a format line spec that will
4092 access the @code{X-Newsreader} header:
4095 "%~(form (gnus-extra-header 'X-Newsreader))@@"
4099 @vindex gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4100 The @code{gnus-ignored-from-addresses} variable says when the @samp{%f}
4101 summary line spec returns the @code{To}, @code{Newsreader} or
4102 @code{From} header. If this regexp matches the contents of the
4103 @code{From} header, the value of the @code{To} or @code{Newsreader}
4104 headers are used instead.
4108 @vindex nnmail-extra-headers
4109 A related variable is @code{nnmail-extra-headers}, which controls when
4110 to include extra headers when generating overview (@sc{nov}) files. If
4111 you have old overview files, you should regenerate them after changing
4114 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
4115 You also have to instruct Gnus to display the data by changing the
4116 @code{%n} spec to the @code{%f} spec in the
4117 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable.
4119 In summary, you'd typically do something like the following:
4122 (setq gnus-extra-headers
4124 (setq nnmail-extra-headers gnus-extra-headers)
4125 (setq gnus-summary-line-format
4126 "%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20f%]%) %s\n")
4127 (setq gnus-ignored-from-addresses
4131 Now, this is mostly useful for mail groups, where you have control over
4132 the @sc{nov} files that are created. However, if you can persuade your
4139 to the end of her @file{overview.fmt} file, then you can use that just
4140 as you would the extra headers from the mail groups.
4143 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
4144 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
4146 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
4147 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
4148 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
4149 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
4151 Here are the elements you can play with:
4157 Unprefixed group name.
4159 Current article number.
4161 Current article score.
4165 Number of unread articles in this group.
4167 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
4170 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
4171 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
4172 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
4173 and no unselected ones.
4175 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
4176 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
4178 Subject of the current article.
4180 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
4182 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
4184 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4186 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
4188 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
4190 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
4194 @node Summary Highlighting
4195 @subsection Summary Highlighting
4199 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4200 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
4201 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
4202 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
4203 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4205 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
4206 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
4207 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
4208 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
4210 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
4211 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
4212 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
4213 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
4215 @item gnus-summary-highlight
4216 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
4217 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
4218 list where the elements are of the format @code{(@var{form}
4219 . @var{face})}. If you would, for instance, like ticked articles to be
4220 italic and high-scored articles to be bold, you could set this variable
4223 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
4224 ((> score default) . bold))
4226 As you may have guessed, if @var{form} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
4227 @var{face} will be applied to the line.
4231 @node Summary Maneuvering
4232 @section Summary Maneuvering
4233 @cindex summary movement
4235 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
4236 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
4238 None of these commands select articles.
4243 @kindex M-n (Summary)
4244 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
4245 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
4246 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
4247 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
4251 @kindex M-p (Summary)
4252 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
4253 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
4254 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
4255 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
4260 @kindex G j (Summary)
4261 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
4262 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
4263 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
4266 @kindex G g (Summary)
4267 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
4268 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
4269 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
4272 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
4273 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
4274 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
4275 to the group buffer.
4277 Variables related to summary movement:
4281 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
4282 @item gnus-auto-select-next
4283 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
4284 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
4285 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
4286 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
4287 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
4288 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
4289 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
4290 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
4291 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
4292 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
4293 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
4294 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
4296 @item gnus-auto-select-same
4297 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
4298 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
4299 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
4300 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
4301 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
4302 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
4304 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
4306 @item gnus-summary-check-current
4307 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
4308 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
4309 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
4310 Instead, they will choose the current article.
4312 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
4313 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
4314 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
4315 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
4316 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
4317 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
4318 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
4319 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
4322 This variable can also be a number. In that case, center the window at
4323 the given number of lines from the top.
4328 @node Choosing Articles
4329 @section Choosing Articles
4330 @cindex selecting articles
4333 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
4334 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
4338 @node Choosing Commands
4339 @subsection Choosing Commands
4341 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
4342 and they all select and display an article.
4344 If you want to fetch new articles or redisplay the group, see
4345 @ref{Exiting the Summary Buffer}.
4349 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4350 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4351 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
4352 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4357 @kindex G n (Summary)
4358 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
4359 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
4360 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
4365 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
4366 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
4367 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
4372 @kindex G N (Summary)
4373 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
4374 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
4379 @kindex G P (Summary)
4380 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
4381 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
4384 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
4385 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
4386 Go to the next article with the same subject
4387 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
4390 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
4391 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
4392 Go to the previous article with the same subject
4393 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
4397 @kindex G f (Summary)
4399 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
4400 Go to the first unread article
4401 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
4405 @kindex G b (Summary)
4407 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
4408 Go to the article with the highest score
4409 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
4414 @kindex G l (Summary)
4415 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
4416 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
4419 @kindex G o (Summary)
4420 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
4422 @cindex article history
4423 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
4424 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
4425 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
4426 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
4427 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
4428 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
4432 @node Choosing Variables
4433 @subsection Choosing Variables
4435 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
4438 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4439 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
4440 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
4441 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
4442 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
4443 the server and display it in the article buffer.
4445 @item gnus-select-article-hook
4446 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
4447 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
4448 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
4450 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
4451 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
4452 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
4453 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
4454 @findex gnus-unread-mark
4455 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
4456 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
4457 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
4458 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
4459 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
4460 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
4461 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
4462 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
4463 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
4468 @node Paging the Article
4469 @section Scrolling the Article
4470 @cindex article scrolling
4475 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
4476 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
4477 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
4478 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
4479 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
4482 @kindex DEL (Summary)
4483 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
4484 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
4487 @kindex RET (Summary)
4488 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
4489 Scroll the current article one line forward
4490 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
4493 @kindex M-RET (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-down
4495 Scroll the current article one line backward
4496 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-down}).
4500 @kindex A g (Summary)
4502 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
4503 @vindex gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4504 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
4505 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
4506 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
4507 the way it came from the server.
4509 If given a numerical prefix, you can do semi-manual charset stuff.
4510 @kbd{C-u 0 g cn-gb-2312 RET} will decode the message as if it were
4511 encoded in the @code{cn-gb-2312} charset. If you have
4514 (setq gnus-summary-show-article-charset-alist
4519 then you can say @kbd{C-u 1 g} to get the same effect.
4524 @kindex A < (Summary)
4525 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
4526 Scroll to the beginning of the article
4527 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
4532 @kindex A > (Summary)
4533 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
4534 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
4538 @kindex A s (Summary)
4540 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
4541 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
4542 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
4546 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
4547 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
4552 @node Reply Followup and Post
4553 @section Reply, Followup and Post
4556 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
4557 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
4558 * Summary Message Commands:: Other Message-related commands.
4559 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
4563 @node Summary Mail Commands
4564 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
4566 @cindex composing mail
4568 Commands for composing a mail message:
4574 @kindex S r (Summary)
4576 @findex gnus-summary-reply
4577 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
4578 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
4579 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
4580 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
4585 @kindex S R (Summary)
4586 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
4587 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
4588 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
4589 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
4590 command uses the process/prefix convention.
4593 @kindex S w (Summary)
4594 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
4595 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
4596 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
4597 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
4598 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
4601 @kindex S W (Summary)
4602 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
4603 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
4604 message (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original}). This command uses
4605 the process/prefix convention.
4609 @kindex S o m (Summary)
4610 @kindex C-c C-f (Summary)
4611 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
4612 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
4613 Forward the current article to some other person
4614 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4615 headers of the forwarded article.
4620 @kindex S m (Summary)
4621 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
4622 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
4623 Send a mail to some other person
4624 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
4627 @kindex S D b (Summary)
4628 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
4629 @cindex bouncing mail
4630 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
4631 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
4632 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
4633 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
4634 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
4635 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
4636 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
4637 very well fail, though.
4640 @kindex S D r (Summary)
4641 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
4642 Not to be confused with the previous command,
4643 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
4644 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
4645 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
4646 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
4647 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
4648 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
4649 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
4651 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
4652 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
4653 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
4654 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
4655 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung muß sein!
4657 This command understands the process/prefix convention
4658 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4661 @kindex S O m (Summary)
4662 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
4663 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
4664 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
4665 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4668 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
4669 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
4670 @cindex crossposting
4671 @cindex excessive crossposting
4672 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
4673 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
4675 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
4676 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
4677 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
4678 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
4679 command understands the process/prefix convention
4680 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
4684 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4687 @node Summary Post Commands
4688 @subsection Summary Post Commands
4690 @cindex composing news
4692 Commands for posting a news article:
4698 @kindex S p (Summary)
4699 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
4700 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
4701 Post an article to the current group
4702 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
4707 @kindex S f (Summary)
4708 @findex gnus-summary-followup
4709 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
4710 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
4714 @kindex S F (Summary)
4716 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
4717 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
4718 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
4719 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
4720 process/prefix convention.
4723 @kindex S n (Summary)
4724 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
4725 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4726 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
4729 @kindex S N (Summary)
4730 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
4731 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
4732 message through mail and include the original message
4733 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
4734 the process/prefix convention.
4737 @kindex S o p (Summary)
4738 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
4739 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
4740 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
4741 headers of the forwarded article.
4744 @kindex S O p (Summary)
4745 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
4747 @cindex making digests
4748 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
4749 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
4750 process/prefix convention.
4753 @kindex S u (Summary)
4754 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
4755 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
4756 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
4757 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
4760 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
4763 @node Summary Message Commands
4764 @subsection Summary Message Commands
4768 @kindex S y (Summary)
4769 @findex gnus-summary-yank-message
4770 Yank the current article into an already existing Message composition
4771 buffer (@code{gnus-summary-yank-message}). This command prompts for
4772 what message buffer you want to yank into, and understands the
4773 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4778 @node Canceling and Superseding
4779 @subsection Canceling Articles
4780 @cindex canceling articles
4781 @cindex superseding articles
4783 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
4784 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
4786 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
4788 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
4790 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
4791 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
4792 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
4793 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
4794 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
4795 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4797 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
4798 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
4801 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
4802 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
4803 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
4805 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
4806 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
4807 your original article.
4809 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
4811 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
4812 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
4813 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
4816 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
4817 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
4818 have posted almost the same article twice.
4820 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
4821 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
4822 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
4823 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
4824 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
4825 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
4826 header by substituting one of those words for the word
4827 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
4828 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4829 canceled/superseded.
4831 Just remember, kids: There is no 'c' in 'supersede'.
4834 @node Marking Articles
4835 @section Marking Articles
4836 @cindex article marking
4837 @cindex article ticking
4840 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4842 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4843 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4844 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4846 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4849 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4850 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4851 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4855 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4859 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4860 * Generic Marking Commands:: How to customize the marking.
4861 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4865 @node Unread Articles
4866 @subsection Unread Articles
4868 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4873 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4874 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4876 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4877 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4878 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4879 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4880 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4884 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4885 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4887 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4888 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4889 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4892 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4893 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4895 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4900 @subsection Read Articles
4901 @cindex expirable mark
4903 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4908 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4909 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4910 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4913 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4914 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4917 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4918 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4919 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4922 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4923 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4926 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4927 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4930 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4931 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4934 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4935 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4938 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4939 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4942 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4943 @sc{soup}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4946 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4947 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4951 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4952 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4953 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4957 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4958 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4960 One more special mark, though:
4964 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4965 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4967 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4968 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4969 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4970 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at
4976 @subsection Other Marks
4977 @cindex process mark
4980 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4986 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4987 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4988 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4989 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4990 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}.
4993 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4994 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4995 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4996 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4999 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
5000 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
5001 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5004 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
5005 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
5006 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
5007 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
5010 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
5011 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
5012 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
5013 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
5014 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
5017 @vindex gnus-process-mark
5018 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
5019 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
5020 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
5021 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
5022 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
5026 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
5027 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
5028 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
5030 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
5031 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
5032 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
5036 @subsection Setting Marks
5037 @cindex setting marks
5039 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
5044 @kindex M c (Summary)
5045 @kindex M-u (Summary)
5046 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
5047 @cindex mark as unread
5048 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
5049 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
5055 @kindex M t (Summary)
5056 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
5057 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
5058 @xref{Article Caching}.
5063 @kindex M ? (Summary)
5064 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
5065 Mark the current article as dormant
5066 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}.
5070 @kindex M d (Summary)
5072 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
5073 Mark the current article as read
5074 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
5078 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
5079 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
5080 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
5085 @kindex M k (Summary)
5086 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
5087 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
5088 and then select the next unread article
5089 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
5093 @kindex M K (Summary)
5094 @kindex C-k (Summary)
5095 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
5096 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
5097 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
5100 @kindex M C (Summary)
5101 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
5102 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
5103 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
5106 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
5107 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
5108 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
5109 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
5112 @kindex M H (Summary)
5113 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
5114 Catchup the current group to point
5115 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
5118 @kindex C-w (Summary)
5119 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
5120 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
5121 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
5124 @kindex M V k (Summary)
5125 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
5126 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
5127 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
5131 @kindex M e (Summary)
5133 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
5134 Mark the current article as expirable
5135 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
5138 @kindex M b (Summary)
5139 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
5140 Set a bookmark in the current article
5141 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
5144 @kindex M B (Summary)
5145 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
5146 Remove the bookmark from the current article
5147 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
5150 @kindex M V c (Summary)
5151 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
5152 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
5153 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5156 @kindex M V u (Summary)
5157 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
5158 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
5159 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
5162 @kindex M V m (Summary)
5163 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
5164 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
5165 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
5166 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
5169 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
5170 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
5171 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
5172 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
5173 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
5174 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
5175 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
5176 The default is @code{t}.
5179 @node Generic Marking Commands
5180 @subsection Generic Marking Commands
5182 Some people would like the command that ticks an article (@kbd{!}) go to
5183 the next article. Others would like it to go to the next unread
5184 article. Yet others would like it to stay on the current article. And
5185 even though I haven't heard of anybody wanting it to go to the
5186 previous (unread) article, I'm sure there are people that want that as
5189 Multiply these five behaviors with five different marking commands, and
5190 you get a potentially complex set of variable to control what each
5193 To sidestep that mess, Gnus provides commands that do all these
5194 different things. They can be found on the @kbd{M M} map in the summary
5195 buffer. Type @kbd{M M C-h} to see them all---there are too many of them
5196 to list in this manual.
5198 While you can use these commands directly, most users would prefer
5199 altering the summary mode keymap. For instance, if you would like the
5200 @kbd{!} command to go to the next article instead of the next unread
5201 article, you could say something like:
5204 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'my-alter-summary-map)
5205 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5206 (local-set-key "!" 'gnus-summary-put-mark-as-ticked-next))
5212 (defun my-alter-summary-map ()
5213 (local-set-key "!" "MM!n"))
5217 @node Setting Process Marks
5218 @subsection Setting Process Marks
5219 @cindex setting process marks
5226 @kindex M P p (Summary)
5227 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
5228 Mark the current article with the process mark
5229 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
5230 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
5234 @kindex M P u (Summary)
5235 @kindex M-# (Summary)
5236 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
5237 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
5240 @kindex M P U (Summary)
5241 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
5242 Remove the process mark from all articles
5243 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
5246 @kindex M P i (Summary)
5247 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
5248 Invert the list of process marked articles
5249 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
5252 @kindex M P R (Summary)
5253 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
5254 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5255 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
5258 @kindex M P G (Summary)
5259 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp
5260 Unmark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
5261 expression (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-by-regexp}).
5264 @kindex M P r (Summary)
5265 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
5266 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
5269 @kindex M P t (Summary)
5270 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5271 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5272 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5275 @kindex M P T (Summary)
5276 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5277 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
5278 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5281 @kindex M P v (Summary)
5282 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
5283 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
5284 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
5287 @kindex M P s (Summary)
5288 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
5289 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5292 @kindex M P S (Summary)
5293 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
5294 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
5295 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
5298 @kindex M P a (Summary)
5299 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
5300 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
5303 @kindex M P b (Summary)
5304 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
5305 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
5306 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
5309 @kindex M P k (Summary)
5310 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
5311 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
5312 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
5315 @kindex M P y (Summary)
5316 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
5317 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
5318 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
5321 @kindex M P w (Summary)
5322 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
5323 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
5324 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
5328 Also see the @kbd{&} command in @pxref{Searching for Articles} for how to
5329 set process marks based on article body contents.
5336 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
5337 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
5338 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
5341 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
5342 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
5343 additional articles.
5349 @kindex / / (Summary)
5350 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
5351 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
5352 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
5355 @kindex / a (Summary)
5356 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
5357 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
5358 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
5361 @kindex / x (Summary)
5362 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-extra
5363 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match one of the ``extra''
5364 headers (@pxref{To From Newsgroups})
5365 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-extra}).
5369 @kindex / u (Summary)
5371 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
5372 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
5373 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
5374 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
5375 dormant articles will also be excluded.
5378 @kindex / m (Summary)
5379 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
5380 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
5381 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
5384 @kindex / t (Summary)
5385 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
5386 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
5387 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-age}). If given a prefix, limit to
5388 articles younger than that number of days.
5391 @kindex / n (Summary)
5392 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
5393 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
5394 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
5395 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
5398 @kindex / w (Summary)
5399 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
5400 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
5401 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
5405 @kindex / v (Summary)
5406 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
5407 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
5408 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
5412 @kindex M S (Summary)
5413 @kindex / E (Summary)
5414 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
5415 Include all expunged articles in the limit
5416 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
5419 @kindex / D (Summary)
5420 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
5421 Include all dormant articles in the limit
5422 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
5425 @kindex / * (Summary)
5426 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
5427 Include all cached articles in the limit
5428 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
5431 @kindex / d (Summary)
5432 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
5433 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
5434 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
5437 @kindex / M (Summary)
5438 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks
5439 Exclude all marked articles (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-marks}).
5442 @kindex / T (Summary)
5443 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
5444 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
5447 @kindex / c (Summary)
5448 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
5449 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
5450 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
5453 @kindex / C (Summary)
5454 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
5455 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
5456 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
5457 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
5465 @cindex article threading
5467 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
5468 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
5469 hierarchical fashion.
5471 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
5472 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
5473 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
5474 or simply missing. Weird news propagation exacerbates the problem,
5475 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
5476 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
5477 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
5479 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
5483 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
5486 A tree-like article structure.
5489 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
5492 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
5493 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
5494 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
5495 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
5496 called loose threads.
5498 @item thread gathering
5499 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
5501 @item sparse threads
5502 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
5503 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
5509 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
5510 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
5514 @node Customizing Threading
5515 @subsection Customizing Threading
5516 @cindex customizing threading
5519 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
5520 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
5521 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
5522 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
5527 @subsubsection Loose Threads
5530 @cindex loose threads
5533 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
5534 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
5535 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
5536 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
5537 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
5538 read or killed the root in a previous session.
5540 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
5541 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
5542 There are four possible values:
5546 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
5547 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
5548 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5549 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5550 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
5555 @cindex adopting articles
5560 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
5561 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
5562 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
5563 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
5566 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
5567 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
5568 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
5569 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
5570 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
5571 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
5572 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
5575 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
5576 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
5577 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
5581 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
5582 display them after one another.
5585 Don't gather loose threads.
5588 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5589 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
5590 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
5591 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
5592 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
5593 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
5594 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
5595 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
5596 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
5597 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
5598 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
5600 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
5601 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
5602 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
5605 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5606 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
5607 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
5608 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
5609 simplification is used.
5611 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5612 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5613 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
5614 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
5616 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
5618 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
5624 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
5625 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
5626 "answer" "reference" "announce"
5627 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
5632 (mapconcat 'identity
5633 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
5635 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
5638 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
5641 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5642 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
5643 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
5644 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
5645 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
5646 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
5648 Useful functions to put in this list include:
5651 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
5652 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
5653 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
5655 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5656 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
5659 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
5660 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
5661 Remove excessive whitespace.
5664 You may also write your own functions, of course.
5667 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5668 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
5669 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
5670 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
5671 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
5672 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
5673 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
5674 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
5676 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5677 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5678 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
5679 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
5680 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
5681 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
5682 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
5683 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
5684 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
5688 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5689 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
5690 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
5691 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
5693 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5694 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
5695 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
5698 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
5702 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
5703 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
5709 @node Filling In Threads
5710 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
5713 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
5714 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
5715 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
5716 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you
5717 would like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still
5718 connect as many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable
5719 to @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than
5720 that number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case,
5721 fetching old headers only works if the backend you are using carries
5722 overview files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
5723 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
5724 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
5726 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
5727 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
5728 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
5730 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
5731 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
5732 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
5733 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
5734 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
5735 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
5736 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
5737 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
5738 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
5739 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
5740 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
5741 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
5742 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
5743 @code{nil} by default.
5748 @node More Threading
5749 @subsubsection More Threading
5752 @item gnus-show-threads
5753 @vindex gnus-show-threads
5754 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
5755 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
5756 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
5757 slower and more awkward.
5759 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5760 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
5761 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
5764 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
5765 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
5766 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
5767 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
5768 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
5769 threads are expunged.
5771 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
5772 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
5773 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
5776 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5777 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
5778 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
5779 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
5780 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
5783 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
5784 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
5785 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
5788 @item gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5789 @vindex gnus-sort-gathered-threads-function
5790 Sometimes, particularly with mailing lists, the order in which mails
5791 arrive locally is not necessarily the same as the order in which they
5792 arrived on the mailing list. Consequently, when sorting sub-threads
5793 using the default @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number}, responses can end
5794 up appearing before the article to which they are responding to.
5795 Setting this variable to an alternate value
5796 (e.g. @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}), in a group's parameters or in an
5797 appropriate hook (e.g. @code{gnus-summary-generate-hook}) can produce a
5798 more logical sub-thread ordering in such instances.
5803 @node Low-Level Threading
5804 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
5808 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
5809 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
5810 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
5811 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
5812 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
5813 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
5815 @item gnus-alter-header-function
5816 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
5817 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
5818 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
5819 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
5820 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
5821 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
5822 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
5823 meaningful. Here's one example:
5826 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
5828 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
5829 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
5831 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
5833 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
5840 @node Thread Commands
5841 @subsection Thread Commands
5842 @cindex thread commands
5848 @kindex T k (Summary)
5849 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
5850 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
5851 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
5852 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
5853 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
5858 @kindex T l (Summary)
5859 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
5860 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
5861 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
5862 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
5865 @kindex T i (Summary)
5866 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
5867 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
5868 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
5871 @kindex T # (Summary)
5872 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
5873 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
5874 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
5877 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
5878 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
5879 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
5880 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
5883 @kindex T T (Summary)
5884 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
5885 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
5888 @kindex T s (Summary)
5889 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
5890 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
5891 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
5894 @kindex T h (Summary)
5895 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
5896 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
5899 @kindex T S (Summary)
5900 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
5901 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5904 @kindex T H (Summary)
5905 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5906 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5909 @kindex T t (Summary)
5910 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5911 Re-thread the current article's thread
5912 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5913 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5916 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5917 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5918 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5919 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5923 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5924 understand the numeric prefix.
5929 @kindex T n (Summary)
5931 @kindex M-C-n (Summary)
5933 @kindex M-down (Summary)
5934 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5935 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5938 @kindex T p (Summary)
5940 @kindex M-C-p (Summary)
5942 @kindex M-up (Summary)
5943 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5944 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5947 @kindex T d (Summary)
5948 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5949 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5952 @kindex T u (Summary)
5953 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5954 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5957 @kindex T o (Summary)
5958 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5959 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5962 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5963 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5964 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5965 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5966 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5967 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5968 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5969 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5970 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5971 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5972 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5973 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5980 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5981 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5982 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5983 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5984 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5985 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5986 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5987 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5988 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which can be either a single
5989 function, a list of functions, or a list containing functions and
5990 @code{(not some-function)} elements.
5992 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5993 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5994 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5995 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5996 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5998 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5999 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
6000 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread.
6002 If you use more than one function, the primary sort key should be the
6003 last function in the list. You should probably always include
6004 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
6005 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
6006 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
6007 ascending article order.
6009 If you would like to sort by reverse score, then by subject, and finally
6010 by number, you could do something like:
6013 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6014 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
6015 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
6016 (not gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score)))
6019 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
6020 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
6021 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
6022 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
6023 which the articles arrived.
6025 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
6029 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
6031 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
6032 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
6035 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
6036 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
6037 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
6038 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
6041 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
6042 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
6043 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
6044 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
6045 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
6046 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
6047 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
6048 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
6049 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
6050 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
6051 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
6052 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
6053 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
6055 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
6059 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
6060 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
6061 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
6066 @node Asynchronous Fetching
6067 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
6068 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
6069 @cindex article pre-fetch
6072 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
6073 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
6074 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
6075 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
6076 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
6078 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
6079 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
6081 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
6082 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
6083 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
6084 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
6085 connection is blocked.
6087 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
6088 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
6089 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
6090 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
6092 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
6093 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
6094 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
6095 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
6098 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
6101 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
6102 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
6103 happen automatically.
6105 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
6106 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
6107 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
6108 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
6109 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
6110 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
6111 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
6113 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
6114 @findex gnus-async-read-p
6115 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
6116 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
6117 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
6118 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
6119 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
6120 data structure as the only parameter.
6122 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter than 100 lines, you could say something like:
6125 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
6126 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
6127 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
6128 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
6131 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
6134 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
6135 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much.
6136 It's probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
6138 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
6139 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
6140 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
6141 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
6145 Remove articles when they are read.
6148 Remove articles when exiting the group.
6151 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
6153 @c @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
6154 @c If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
6155 @c from the next group.
6158 @node Article Caching
6159 @section Article Caching
6160 @cindex article caching
6163 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
6164 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
6165 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
6166 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
6167 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
6169 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
6171 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6172 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
6173 @vindex gnus-use-cache
6174 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
6175 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
6176 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
6177 cache is flat or hierarchical is controlled by the
6178 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
6180 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
6181 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
6182 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
6183 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
6184 as dormant, and don't worry.
6186 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
6188 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
6189 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
6190 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
6191 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
6192 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
6193 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
6194 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
6195 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
6196 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
6197 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
6199 @findex gnus-jog-cache
6200 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
6201 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
6202 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
6203 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
6204 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
6205 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
6206 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
6207 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
6208 not then be downloaded by this command.
6210 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
6211 @vindex gnus-cacheable-groups
6212 It is likely that you do not want caching on all groups. For instance,
6213 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
6214 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
6215 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space.
6217 To limit the caching, you could set @code{gnus-cacheable-groups} to a
6218 regexp of groups to cache, @samp{^nntp} for instance, or set the
6219 @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to @samp{^nnml}, for instance.
6220 Both variables are @code{nil} by default. If a group matches both
6221 variables, the group is not cached.
6223 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
6224 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
6225 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
6226 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
6227 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
6228 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
6229 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
6230 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
6231 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
6235 @node Persistent Articles
6236 @section Persistent Articles
6237 @cindex persistent articles
6239 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
6240 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
6241 useful in my opinion.
6243 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
6244 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
6245 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
6246 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
6247 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
6248 the expiry going on at the news server.
6250 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
6251 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
6252 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
6258 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
6259 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
6262 @kindex M-* (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
6264 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
6265 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
6269 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
6271 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
6272 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
6273 interested in persistent articles:
6276 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
6280 @node Article Backlog
6281 @section Article Backlog
6283 @cindex article backlog
6285 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
6286 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
6287 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
6288 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
6289 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
6290 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
6291 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
6292 increase memory usage some.
6294 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
6295 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
6296 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
6297 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
6298 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
6299 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
6300 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
6302 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
6305 @node Saving Articles
6306 @section Saving Articles
6307 @cindex saving articles
6309 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
6310 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
6311 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
6312 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
6313 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
6315 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
6316 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
6317 unwanted headers before saving the article.
6319 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
6320 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
6321 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
6322 deleted before saving.
6328 @kindex O o (Summary)
6330 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
6331 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
6332 Save the current article using the default article saver
6333 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
6336 @kindex O m (Summary)
6337 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
6338 Save the current article in mail format
6339 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
6342 @kindex O r (Summary)
6343 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
6344 Save the current article in rmail format
6345 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
6348 @kindex O f (Summary)
6349 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
6350 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
6351 Save the current article in plain file format
6352 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
6355 @kindex O F (Summary)
6356 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
6357 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
6358 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
6361 @kindex O b (Summary)
6362 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
6363 Save the current article body in plain file format
6364 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
6367 @kindex O h (Summary)
6368 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
6369 Save the current article in mh folder format
6370 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
6373 @kindex O v (Summary)
6374 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
6375 Save the current article in a VM folder
6376 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
6379 @kindex O p (Summary)
6380 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
6381 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
6382 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
6385 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
6386 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
6387 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
6388 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
6389 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
6390 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
6391 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
6392 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
6393 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
6394 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
6395 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
6396 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
6400 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
6401 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
6402 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the six ready-made
6403 functions below, or you can create your own.
6407 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6408 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
6409 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
6410 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6411 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
6412 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6413 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6415 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6416 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
6417 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
6418 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
6419 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6420 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
6422 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
6423 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
6424 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
6425 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6426 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
6427 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6428 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6430 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6431 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
6432 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
6433 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
6434 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
6436 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6437 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
6438 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
6439 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
6440 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
6443 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
6444 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
6445 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
6446 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
6447 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
6449 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6450 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
6451 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
6452 reader to use this setting.
6455 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
6456 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
6457 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
6458 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
6461 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
6462 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
6463 available functions that generate names:
6467 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
6468 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
6469 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6471 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
6472 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
6473 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
6475 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
6476 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
6477 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6479 @item gnus-plain-save-name
6480 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
6481 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
6484 @vindex gnus-split-methods
6485 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp into
6486 the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would like to
6487 save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and articles
6488 related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable to something
6492 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
6493 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
6494 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
6495 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
6498 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
6499 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
6500 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
6501 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
6502 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
6503 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
6504 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
6505 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
6506 called returns a string or a list of strings.
6508 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
6509 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
6510 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
6511 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
6513 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
6514 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
6515 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file
6518 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
6519 lots of mail groups called things like
6520 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
6521 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
6522 following will do just that:
6525 (defun my-save-name (group)
6526 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
6527 (substring group (match-end 0))))
6529 (setq gnus-split-methods
6530 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
6535 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
6536 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
6537 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
6538 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
6539 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
6540 all the files in the top level directory
6541 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
6542 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
6543 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
6544 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
6546 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
6547 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
6548 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
6549 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
6550 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
6553 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
6557 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
6558 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
6561 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
6562 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
6563 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
6564 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
6567 @node Decoding Articles
6568 @section Decoding Articles
6569 @cindex decoding articles
6571 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
6572 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
6575 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
6576 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
6577 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
6578 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
6579 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
6580 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
6584 @cindex article series
6585 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
6586 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
6587 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
6588 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
6589 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
6591 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
6592 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
6593 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
6595 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
6596 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
6597 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
6599 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
6600 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
6601 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
6604 @node Uuencoded Articles
6605 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
6607 @cindex uuencoded articles
6612 @kindex X u (Summary)
6613 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
6614 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
6615 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
6618 @kindex X U (Summary)
6619 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
6620 Uudecodes and saves the current series
6621 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6624 @kindex X v u (Summary)
6625 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
6626 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
6629 @kindex X v U (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
6631 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
6632 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
6636 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
6637 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
6638 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
6639 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
6640 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
6642 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
6643 @sc{gnus 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
6644 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
6645 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
6648 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
6649 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
6650 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
6651 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
6652 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
6653 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
6657 @node Shell Archives
6658 @subsection Shell Archives
6660 @cindex shell archives
6661 @cindex shared articles
6663 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
6664 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
6665 some commands to deal with these:
6670 @kindex X s (Summary)
6671 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
6672 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
6675 @kindex X S (Summary)
6676 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
6677 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
6680 @kindex X v s (Summary)
6681 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
6682 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
6685 @kindex X v S (Summary)
6686 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
6687 Unshars, views and saves the current series
6688 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
6692 @node PostScript Files
6693 @subsection PostScript Files
6699 @kindex X p (Summary)
6700 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
6701 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
6704 @kindex X P (Summary)
6705 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
6706 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
6707 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
6710 @kindex X v p (Summary)
6711 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
6712 View the current PostScript series
6713 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
6716 @kindex X v P (Summary)
6717 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
6718 View and save the current PostScript series
6719 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
6724 @subsection Other Files
6728 @kindex X o (Summary)
6729 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
6730 Save the current series
6731 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
6734 @kindex X b (Summary)
6735 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
6736 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
6737 doesn't really work yet.
6741 @node Decoding Variables
6742 @subsection Decoding Variables
6744 Adjective, not verb.
6747 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
6748 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
6749 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
6753 @node Rule Variables
6754 @subsubsection Rule Variables
6755 @cindex rule variables
6757 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
6758 variables are of the form
6761 (list '(regexp1 command2)
6768 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6769 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6771 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
6772 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
6775 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
6776 (list '("\\\\.au$" "sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio")))
6779 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6780 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
6781 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
6782 user and default view rules.
6784 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6785 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
6786 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
6791 @node Other Decode Variables
6792 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
6795 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6797 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
6798 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
6799 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
6800 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
6801 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
6805 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
6806 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
6809 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
6810 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
6811 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
6814 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6815 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
6816 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
6817 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
6818 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
6821 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6822 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
6823 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
6825 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6826 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
6827 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
6828 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
6829 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
6832 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6833 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
6834 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
6836 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6837 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
6838 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
6839 looking for files to display.
6841 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
6842 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
6843 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
6846 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6847 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
6848 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
6851 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6852 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
6853 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
6856 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6857 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
6858 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
6861 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6862 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
6863 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
6864 decoded articles as unread.
6866 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6867 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
6868 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
6869 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
6871 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6872 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
6873 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
6875 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6876 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
6878 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
6879 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
6880 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
6881 @code{metamail} for viewing.
6883 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6884 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
6885 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
6886 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
6887 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
6888 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC 1153---no easy way
6889 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
6890 simply dropped them.
6895 @node Uuencoding and Posting
6896 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
6900 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6901 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
6902 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
6903 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
6904 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
6905 for you when you post the article.
6907 @item gnus-uu-post-length
6908 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
6909 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
6910 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
6912 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
6913 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
6914 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
6915 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
6916 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
6917 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6918 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6920 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6921 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6922 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6923 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6924 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6925 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6926 Default is @code{t}.
6932 @subsection Viewing Files
6933 @cindex viewing files
6934 @cindex pseudo-articles
6936 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6937 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6938 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6939 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6940 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6941 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6942 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6944 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6945 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6946 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6947 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6949 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6950 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6951 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6953 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6954 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6955 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6956 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6957 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6959 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6960 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6961 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6962 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6963 a list of parameters to that command.
6965 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6966 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6967 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6969 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6970 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6971 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6974 @node Article Treatment
6975 @section Article Treatment
6977 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6978 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6979 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6980 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6981 these articles easier.
6984 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6985 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6986 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6987 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6988 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6989 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6990 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6991 * Article Miscellania:: Various other stuff.
6995 @node Article Highlighting
6996 @subsection Article Highlighting
6997 @cindex highlighting
6999 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
7000 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
7005 @kindex W H a (Summary)
7006 @findex gnus-article-highlight
7007 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7008 Do much highlighting of the current article
7009 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
7010 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
7013 @kindex W H h (Summary)
7014 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
7015 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
7016 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
7017 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
7018 variable, which is a list where each element has the form
7019 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{name} @var{content})}.
7020 @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
7021 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
7022 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
7023 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
7024 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
7027 @kindex W H c (Summary)
7028 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
7029 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
7031 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
7034 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7036 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
7037 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
7038 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
7040 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
7041 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
7042 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
7044 @item gnus-cite-face-list
7045 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
7046 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
7047 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
7048 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
7049 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
7051 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
7052 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
7053 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
7055 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7056 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
7057 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
7059 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7060 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
7061 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
7062 that it's a citation.
7064 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7065 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
7066 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
7068 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7069 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
7070 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
7072 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
7073 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
7074 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
7075 cited text belonging to the attribution.
7081 @kindex W H s (Summary)
7082 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7083 @vindex gnus-signature-face
7084 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
7085 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
7086 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
7087 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
7088 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
7093 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to highlight articles automatically.
7096 @node Article Fontisizing
7097 @subsection Article Fontisizing
7099 @cindex article emphasis
7101 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
7102 @kindex W e (Summary)
7103 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
7104 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*} or @samp{/this/}. Gnus can make
7105 this look nicer by running the article through the @kbd{W e}
7106 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
7108 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
7109 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
7110 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
7111 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
7112 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
7113 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
7114 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
7115 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
7119 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
7120 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
7121 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
7130 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
7131 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
7132 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
7133 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
7134 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
7135 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
7136 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
7137 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
7138 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
7139 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
7140 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
7141 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
7142 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
7144 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
7145 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
7146 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
7150 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
7153 @vindex gnus-group-highlight-words-alist
7155 If you want to highlight arbitrary words, you can use the
7156 @code{gnus-group-highlight-words-alist} variable, which uses the same
7157 syntax as @code{gnus-emphasis-alist}. The @code{highlight-words} group
7158 parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) can also be used.
7160 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to fontize articles automatically.
7163 @node Article Hiding
7164 @subsection Article Hiding
7165 @cindex article hiding
7167 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
7168 too much cruft in most articles.
7173 @kindex W W a (Summary)
7174 @findex gnus-article-hide
7175 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
7176 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
7177 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
7180 @kindex W W h (Summary)
7181 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7182 Toggle hiding of headers (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}). @xref{Hiding
7186 @kindex W W b (Summary)
7187 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7188 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
7189 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
7192 @kindex W W s (Summary)
7193 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
7194 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
7198 @kindex W W l (Summary)
7199 @findex gnus-article-hide-list-identifiers
7200 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7201 Strip list identifiers specified in @code{gnus-list-identifiers}. These
7202 are strings some mailing list servers add to the beginning of all
7203 @code{Subject} headers---for example, @samp{[zebra 4711]}. Any leading
7204 @samp{Re: } is skipped before stripping. @code{gnus-list-identifiers}
7205 may not contain @code{\\(..\\)}.
7209 @item gnus-list-identifiers
7210 @vindex gnus-list-identifiers
7211 A regular expression that matches list identifiers to be removed from
7212 subject. This can also be a list of regular expressions.
7217 @kindex W W p (Summary)
7218 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
7219 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7220 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
7221 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
7222 signature has been hidden. For example, to automatically verify
7223 articles that have signatures in them do:
7225 ;;; Hide pgp cruft if any.
7227 (setq gnus-treat-strip-pgp t)
7229 ;;; After hiding pgp, verify the message;
7230 ;;; only happens if pgp signature is found.
7232 (add-hook 'gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
7235 (set-buffer gnus-original-article-buffer)
7240 @kindex W W P (Summary)
7241 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
7242 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
7243 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
7246 @kindex W W B (Summary)
7247 @findex gnus-article-strip-banner
7250 @cindex stripping advertisements
7251 @cindex advertisements
7252 Strip the banner specified by the @code{banner} group parameter
7253 (@code{gnus-article-strip-banner}). This is mainly used to hide those
7254 annoying banners and/or signatures that some mailing lists and moderated
7255 groups adds to all the messages. The way to use this function is to add
7256 the @code{banner} group parameter (@pxref{Group Parameters}) to the
7257 group you want banners stripped from. The parameter either be a string,
7258 which will be interpreted as a regular expression matching text to be
7259 removed, or the symbol @code{signature}, meaning that the (last)
7260 signature should be removed, or other symbol, meaning that the
7261 corresponding regular expression in @code{gnus-article-banner-alist} is
7265 @kindex W W c (Summary)
7266 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
7267 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
7268 customizing the hiding:
7272 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7273 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7274 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
7275 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
7276 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
7277 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
7278 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
7283 Starting point of the hidden text.
7285 Ending point of the hidden text.
7287 Number of characters in the hidden region.
7289 Number of lines of hidden text.
7292 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
7293 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
7294 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave
7295 shown. This can also be a cons cell with the number of lines at the top
7296 and bottom of the text, respectively, to remain visible.
7301 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
7302 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
7304 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
7305 following two variables:
7308 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7309 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
7310 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
7311 50), hide the cited text.
7313 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7314 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
7315 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
7320 @kindex W W C (Summary)
7321 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
7322 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
7323 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
7324 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
7325 have happen automatically (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
7329 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
7330 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
7331 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
7333 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
7334 citation customization.
7336 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to hide article elements
7340 @node Article Washing
7341 @subsection Article Washing
7343 @cindex article washing
7345 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
7346 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
7348 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
7349 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
7352 @xref{Customizing Articles}, if you want to change how Gnus displays
7353 articles by default.
7358 This is not really washing, it's sort of the opposite of washing. If
7359 you type this, you see the article exactly as it exists on disk or on
7363 @kindex W l (Summary)
7364 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
7365 Remove page breaks from the current article
7366 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article}, for page
7370 @kindex W r (Summary)
7371 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
7372 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
7373 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
7374 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
7375 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
7376 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
7378 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
7379 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
7380 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
7381 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
7385 @kindex W t (Summary)
7387 @findex gnus-article-toggle-headers
7388 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
7389 (@code{gnus-article-toggle-headers}).
7392 @kindex W v (Summary)
7393 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
7394 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
7395 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
7398 @kindex W m (Summary)
7399 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
7400 Toggle whether to run the article through @sc{mime} before displaying
7401 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
7404 @kindex W o (Summary)
7405 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
7406 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
7409 @kindex W d (Summary)
7410 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
7411 @vindex gnus-article-dumbquotes-map
7413 @cindex M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s
7415 Treat M****s*** sm*rtq**t*s according to
7416 @code{gnus-article-dumbquotes-map}
7417 (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}). Note that this function guesses
7418 whether a character is a sm*rtq**t* or not, so it should only be used
7421 Sm*rtq**t*s are M****s***'s unilateral extension to the character map in
7422 an attempt to provide more quoting characters. If you see something
7423 like @code{\222} or @code{\264} where you're expecting some kind of
7424 apostrophe or quotation mark, then try this wash.
7427 @kindex W w (Summary)
7428 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
7429 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}).
7431 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
7435 @kindex W Q (Summary)
7436 @findex gnus-article-fill-long-lines
7437 Fill long lines (@code{gnus-article-fill-long-lines}).
7440 @kindex W C (Summary)
7441 @findex gnus-article-capitalize-sentences
7442 Capitalize the first word in each sentence
7443 (@code{gnus-article-capitalize-sentences}).
7446 @kindex W c (Summary)
7447 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
7448 Translate CRLF pairs (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines) into LF
7449 (this takes care of DOS line endings), and then translate any remaining
7450 CRs into LF (this takes care of Mac line endings)
7451 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
7454 @kindex W 6 (Summary)
7455 @findex gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable
7456 Treat base64 (@code{gnus-article-de-base64-unreadable}).
7457 Base64 is one common @sc{mime} encoding employed when sending non-ASCII
7458 (i. e., 8-bit) articles. Note that the this is usually done
7459 automatically by Gnus if the message in question has a
7460 @code{Content-Transfer-Encoding} header that says that this encoding has
7464 @kindex W Z (Summary)
7465 @findex gnus-article-decode-HZ
7466 Treat HZ or HZP (@code{gnus-article-decode-HZ}). HZ (or HZP) is one
7467 common encoding employed when sending Chinese articles. It typically
7468 makes strings look like @samp{~@{<:Ky2;S@{#,NpJ)l6HK!#~@}}.
7471 @kindex W h (Summary)
7472 @findex gnus-article-wash-html
7473 Treat HTML (@code{gnus-article-wash-html}).
7474 Note that the this is usually done automatically by Gnus if the message
7475 in question has a @code{Content-Type} header that says that this type
7479 @kindex W f (Summary)
7481 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
7482 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
7483 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
7484 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
7491 Look for and display any X-Face headers
7492 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
7493 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
7494 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
7495 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
7496 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
7497 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
7498 The default action under Emacs is to fork off the @code{display}
7499 program@footnote{@code{display} is from the ImageMagick package. For the
7500 @code{uncompface} and @code{icontopbm} programs look for a package
7501 like `compface' or `faces-xface' on a GNU/Linux system.}
7502 to view the face. Under XEmacs or Emacs 21+ with suitable image
7503 support, the default action is to display the face before the
7504 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
7505 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
7506 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
7507 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and
7508 friends.@footnote{On a GNU/Linux system look for packages with names
7509 like @code{netpbm} or @code{libgr-progs}.}) If you
7510 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
7514 @kindex W b (Summary)
7515 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
7516 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
7517 @xref{Article Buttons}.
7520 @kindex W B (Summary)
7521 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
7522 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
7523 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
7526 @kindex W W H (Summary)
7527 @findex gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body
7528 Strip headers like the @code{X-No-Archive} header from the beginning of
7529 article bodies (@code{gnus-article-strip-headers-from-body}).
7532 @kindex W E l (Summary)
7533 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
7534 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
7535 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
7538 @kindex W E m (Summary)
7539 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
7540 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
7541 lines with a single empty line.
7542 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
7545 @kindex W E t (Summary)
7546 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
7547 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
7548 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
7551 @kindex W E a (Summary)
7552 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
7553 Do all the three commands above
7554 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
7557 @kindex W E A (Summary)
7558 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
7559 Remove all blank lines
7560 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
7563 @kindex W E s (Summary)
7564 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
7565 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
7566 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
7569 @kindex W E e (Summary)
7570 @findex gnus-article-strip-trailing-space
7571 Remove all white space from the end of all lines of the article
7572 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-trailing-space}).
7576 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to wash articles automatically.
7579 @node Article Buttons
7580 @subsection Article Buttons
7583 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
7584 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
7585 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
7586 button on these references.
7588 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
7589 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
7590 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
7595 @item gnus-button-alist
7596 @vindex gnus-button-alist
7597 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
7600 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7606 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
7607 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
7608 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
7611 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
7612 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
7613 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
7616 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
7617 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
7618 avoid false matches.
7621 This function will be called when you click on this button.
7624 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
7625 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
7629 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
7632 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
7635 @item gnus-header-button-alist
7636 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
7637 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
7638 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
7639 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
7642 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
7645 @var{header} is a regular expression.
7647 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
7648 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
7649 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
7650 default values of the variables above.
7652 @item gnus-article-button-face
7653 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
7654 Face used on buttons.
7656 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
7657 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
7658 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
7662 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to buttonize articles automatically.
7666 @subsection Article Date
7668 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
7669 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
7670 when the article was sent.
7675 @kindex W T u (Summary)
7676 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
7677 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
7678 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
7681 @kindex W T i (Summary)
7682 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
7684 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
7685 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
7688 @kindex W T l (Summary)
7689 @findex gnus-article-date-local
7690 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
7693 @kindex W T p (Summary)
7694 @findex gnus-article-date-english
7695 Display the date in a format that's easily pronounceable in English
7696 (@code{gnus-article-date-english}).
7699 @kindex W T s (Summary)
7700 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
7701 @findex gnus-article-date-user
7702 @findex format-time-string
7703 Display the date using a user-defined format
7704 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
7705 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
7706 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
7707 for a list of possible format specs.
7710 @kindex W T e (Summary)
7711 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
7712 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
7713 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
7714 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
7715 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). It looks something like:
7718 X-Sent: 9 years, 6 weeks, 4 days, 9 hours, 3 minutes, 28 seconds ago
7721 The value of @code{gnus-article-date-lapsed-new-header} determines
7722 whether this header will just be added below the old Date one, or will
7725 An advantage of using Gnus to read mail is that it converts simple bugs
7726 into wonderful absurdities.
7728 If you want to have this line updated continually, you can put
7731 (gnus-start-date-timer)
7734 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
7735 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
7739 @kindex W T o (Summary)
7740 @findex gnus-article-date-original
7741 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
7742 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
7743 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
7744 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
7745 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
7749 @xref{Customizing Articles}, for how to display the date in your
7750 preferred format automatically.
7753 @node Article Signature
7754 @subsection Article Signature
7756 @cindex article signature
7758 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
7759 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
7760 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
7761 that says what is to be considered a signature is
7762 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
7763 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
7764 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
7765 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
7766 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
7769 (setq gnus-signature-separator
7770 '("^-- $" ; The standard
7771 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
7772 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
7773 ; line of dashes. Shame!
7774 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
7775 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
7776 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
7779 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
7782 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
7783 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
7784 signature when displaying articles.
7788 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
7791 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
7794 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
7795 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
7797 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
7798 in question is not a signature.
7801 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
7802 listed above. Here's an example:
7805 (setq gnus-signature-limit
7806 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
7809 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
7810 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
7811 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
7812 signature after all.
7815 @node Article Miscellania
7816 @subsection Article Miscellania
7820 @kindex A t (Summary)
7821 @findex gnus-article-babel
7822 Translate the article from one language to another
7823 (@code{gnus-article-babel}).
7829 @section @sc{mime} Commands
7830 @cindex MIME decoding
7832 @cindex viewing attachments
7834 The following commands all understand the numerical prefix. For
7835 instance, @kbd{3 b} means ``view the third @sc{mime} part''.
7841 @kindex K v (Summary)
7842 View the @sc{mime} part.
7845 @kindex K o (Summary)
7846 Save the @sc{mime} part.
7849 @kindex K c (Summary)
7850 Copy the @sc{mime} part.
7853 @kindex K e (Summary)
7854 View the @sc{mime} part externally.
7857 @kindex K i (Summary)
7858 View the @sc{mime} part internally.
7861 @kindex K | (Summary)
7862 Pipe the @sc{mime} part to an external command.
7865 The rest of these @sc{mime} commands do not use the numerical prefix in
7870 @kindex K b (Summary)
7871 Make all the @sc{mime} parts have buttons in front of them. This is
7872 mostly useful if you wish to save (or perform other actions) on inlined
7876 @kindex K m (Summary)
7877 @findex gnus-summary-repair-multipart
7878 Some multipart messages are transmitted with missing or faulty headers.
7879 This command will attempt to ``repair'' these messages so that they can
7880 be viewed in a more pleasant manner
7881 (@code{gnus-summary-repair-multipart}).
7884 @kindex X m (Summary)
7885 @findex gnus-summary-save-parts
7886 Save all parts matching a @sc{mime} type to a directory
7887 (@code{gnus-summary-save-parts}). Understands the process/prefix
7888 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7891 @kindex M-t (Summary)
7892 @findex gnus-summary-display-buttonized
7893 Toggle the buttonized display of the article buffer
7894 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-display-buttonized}).
7897 @kindex W M w (Summary)
7898 Decode RFC 2047-encoded words in the article headers
7899 (@code{gnus-article-decode-mime-words}).
7902 @kindex W M c (Summary)
7903 Decode encoded article bodies as well as charsets
7904 (@code{gnus-article-decode-charset}).
7906 This command looks in the @code{Content-Type} header to determine the
7907 charset. If there is no such header in the article, you can give it a
7908 prefix, which will prompt for the charset to decode as. In regional
7909 groups where people post using some common encoding (but do not include
7910 MIME headers), you can set the @code{charset} group/topic parameter to
7911 the required charset (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
7914 @kindex W M v (Summary)
7915 View all the @sc{mime} parts in the current article
7916 (@code{gnus-mime-view-all-parts}).
7923 @item gnus-ignored-mime-types
7924 @vindex gnus-ignored-mime-types
7925 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7926 this list will be completely ignored by Gnus. The default value is
7929 To have all Vcards be ignored, you'd say something like this:
7932 (setq gnus-ignored-mime-types
7936 @item gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7937 @vindex gnus-unbuttonized-mime-types
7938 This is a list of regexps. @sc{mime} types that match a regexp from
7939 this list won't have @sc{mime} buttons inserted unless they aren't
7940 displayed. The default value is @code{(".*/.*")}.
7942 @item gnus-article-mime-part-function
7943 @vindex gnus-article-mime-part-function
7944 For each @sc{mime} part, this function will be called with the @sc{mime}
7945 handle as the parameter. The function is meant to be used to allow
7946 users to gather information from the article (e. g., add Vcard info to
7947 the bbdb database) or to do actions based on parts (e. g., automatically
7948 save all jpegs into some directory).
7950 Here's an example function the does the latter:
7953 (defun my-save-all-jpeg-parts (handle)
7954 (when (equal (car (mm-handle-type handle)) "image/jpeg")
7956 (insert (mm-get-part handle))
7957 (write-region (point-min) (point-max)
7958 (read-file-name "Save jpeg to: ")))))
7959 (setq gnus-article-mime-part-function
7960 'my-save-all-jpeg-parts)
7963 @vindex gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7964 @item gnus-mime-multipart-functions
7965 Alist of @sc{mime} multipart types and functions to handle them.
7974 People use different charsets, and we have @sc{mime} to let us know what
7975 charsets they use. Or rather, we wish we had. Many people use
7976 newsreaders and mailers that do not understand or use @sc{mime}, and
7977 just send out messages without saying what character sets they use. To
7978 help a bit with this, some local news hierarchies have policies that say
7979 what character set is the default. For instance, the @samp{fj}
7980 hierarchy uses @code{iso-2022-jp-2}.
7982 @vindex gnus-group-charset-alist
7983 This knowledge is encoded in the @code{gnus-group-charset-alist}
7984 variable, which is an alist of regexps (to match group names) and
7985 default charsets to be used when reading these groups.
7987 In addition, some people do use soi-disant @sc{mime}-aware agents that
7988 aren't. These blithely mark messages as being in @code{iso-8859-1} even
7989 if they really are in @code{koi-8}. To help here, the
7990 @code{gnus-newsgroup-ignored-charsets} variable can be used. The
7991 charsets that are listed here will be ignored. The variable can be set
7992 on a group-by-group basis using the group parameters (@pxref{Group
7993 Parameters}). The default value is @code{(unknown-8bit)}, which is
7994 something some agents insist on having in there.
7996 @vindex gnus-group-posting-charset-alist
7997 When posting, @code{gnus-group-posting-charset-alist} is used to
7998 determine which charsets should not be encoded using the @sc{mime}
7999 encodings. For instance, some hierarchies discourage using
8000 quoted-printable header encoding.
8002 This variable is an alist of regexps and permitted unencoded charsets
8003 for posting. Each element of the alist has the form @code{(}@var{test
8004 header body-list}@code{)}, where:
8008 is either a regular expression matching the newsgroup header or a
8011 is the charset which may be left unencoded in the header (@code{nil}
8012 means encode all charsets),
8014 is a list of charsets which may be encoded using 8bit content-transfer
8015 encoding in the body, or one of the special values @code{nil} (always
8016 encode using quoted-printable) or @code{t} (always use 8bit).
8023 @cindex coding system aliases
8024 @cindex preferred charset
8026 Other charset tricks that may be useful, although not Gnus-specific:
8028 If there are several @sc{mime} charsets that encode the same Emacs
8029 charset, you can choose what charset to use by saying the following:
8032 (put-charset-property 'cyrillic-iso8859-5
8033 'preferred-coding-system 'koi8-r)
8036 This means that Russian will be encoded using @code{koi8-r} instead of
8037 the default @code{iso-8859-5} @sc{mime} charset.
8039 If you want to read messages in @code{koi8-u}, you can cheat and say
8042 (define-coding-system-alias 'koi8-u 'koi8-r)
8045 This will almost do the right thing.
8047 And finally, to read charsets like @code{windows-1251}, you can say
8051 (codepage-setup 1251)
8052 (define-coding-system-alias 'windows-1251 'cp1251)
8056 @node Article Commands
8057 @section Article Commands
8064 @kindex A P (Summary)
8065 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
8066 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
8067 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
8068 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
8069 run just before printing the buffer.
8074 @node Summary Sorting
8075 @section Summary Sorting
8076 @cindex summary sorting
8078 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
8079 can't really see why you'd want that.
8084 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
8085 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
8086 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
8089 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
8090 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
8091 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
8094 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
8095 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
8096 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
8099 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
8100 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
8101 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
8104 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
8105 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
8106 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
8109 @kindex C-c C-s C-c (Summary)
8110 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-chars
8111 Sort by article length (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-chars}).
8114 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
8115 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
8116 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
8119 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
8120 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
8121 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
8122 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
8123 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
8127 @node Finding the Parent
8128 @section Finding the Parent
8129 @cindex parent articles
8130 @cindex referring articles
8135 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
8136 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
8137 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
8138 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
8139 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
8140 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
8141 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
8142 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
8143 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
8145 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
8146 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
8147 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
8148 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
8149 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
8153 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
8154 @kindex A R (Summary)
8155 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
8156 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
8159 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
8160 @kindex A T (Summary)
8161 Display the full thread where the current article appears
8162 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
8163 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
8164 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
8165 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
8166 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
8167 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
8169 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
8170 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
8171 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
8172 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
8173 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
8174 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
8177 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
8178 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
8180 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
8181 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
8182 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
8183 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
8184 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
8185 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
8186 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
8189 The current select method will be used when fetching by
8190 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
8191 by giving this command a prefix.
8193 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
8194 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
8195 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
8196 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
8197 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
8198 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
8201 It can also be a list of select methods, as well as the special symbol
8202 @code{current}, which means to use the current select method. If it
8203 is a list, Gnus will try all the methods in the list until it finds a
8206 Here's an example setting that will first try the current method, and
8207 then ask Deja if that fails:
8210 (setq gnus-refer-article-method
8212 (nnweb "refer" (nnweb-type dejanews))))
8215 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
8216 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
8217 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
8218 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
8219 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
8220 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
8223 @node Alternative Approaches
8224 @section Alternative Approaches
8226 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
8227 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
8230 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
8231 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
8236 @subsection Pick and Read
8237 @cindex pick and read
8239 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
8240 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
8241 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
8242 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
8244 @findex gnus-pick-mode
8245 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
8246 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
8247 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
8248 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
8249 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
8251 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
8256 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
8257 Pick the article or thread on the current line
8258 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8259 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
8260 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
8261 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
8262 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
8263 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
8266 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
8267 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
8268 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
8269 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
8273 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
8274 Unpick the thread or article
8275 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
8276 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
8277 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
8278 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
8279 the thread or article at that line.
8283 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
8284 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
8285 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
8286 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
8287 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
8288 will still be visible when you are reading.
8292 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
8293 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
8294 which is mapped to the same function
8295 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
8297 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
8300 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
8303 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
8304 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
8306 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
8307 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
8308 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
8310 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
8311 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
8312 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
8313 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
8314 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
8315 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
8316 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
8320 @subsection Binary Groups
8321 @cindex binary groups
8323 @findex gnus-binary-mode
8324 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
8325 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
8326 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
8327 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
8328 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
8329 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
8332 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
8333 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
8334 command, when you have turned on this mode
8335 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
8337 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
8338 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
8342 @section Tree Display
8345 @vindex gnus-use-trees
8346 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
8347 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
8348 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
8351 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
8354 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
8355 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
8356 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
8358 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8359 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
8360 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
8361 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
8362 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
8364 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
8365 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
8366 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
8367 default is @code{modeline}.
8369 @item gnus-tree-line-format
8370 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
8371 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
8372 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
8373 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
8374 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
8375 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
8381 The name of the poster.
8383 The @code{From} header.
8385 The number of the article.
8387 The opening bracket.
8389 The closing bracket.
8394 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
8396 Variables related to the display are:
8399 @item gnus-tree-brackets
8400 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
8401 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
8402 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @code{((@var{real-open} . @var{real-close})
8403 (@var{sparse-open} . @var{sparse-close}) (@var{dummy-open} . @var{dummy-close}))}, and the
8404 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
8406 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8407 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
8408 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
8409 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
8413 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
8414 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
8415 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
8416 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
8417 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
8418 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
8419 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
8420 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
8421 other windows displayed next to it.
8423 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
8424 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
8425 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8426 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
8427 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
8428 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
8429 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
8433 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
8436 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
8446 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
8450 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
8451 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
8453 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
8455 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
8460 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
8461 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
8462 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
8465 (setq gnus-use-trees t
8466 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
8467 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
8468 (gnus-add-configuration
8472 (summary 0.75 point)
8477 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
8480 @node Mail Group Commands
8481 @section Mail Group Commands
8482 @cindex mail group commands
8484 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
8485 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
8487 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
8488 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8493 @kindex B e (Summary)
8494 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
8495 Expire all expirable articles in the group
8496 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
8499 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
8500 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
8501 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
8502 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
8503 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
8504 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
8507 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
8508 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
8509 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
8510 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
8511 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
8512 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
8515 @kindex B m (Summary)
8517 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
8518 @vindex gnus-preserve-marks
8519 Move the article from one mail group to another
8520 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8521 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8524 @kindex B c (Summary)
8526 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
8527 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
8528 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
8529 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}). Marks will be preserved if
8530 @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil} (which is the default).
8533 @kindex B B (Summary)
8534 @cindex crosspost mail
8535 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
8536 Crosspost the current article to some other group
8537 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
8538 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
8539 be properly updated.
8542 @kindex B i (Summary)
8543 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
8544 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
8545 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
8546 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
8549 @kindex B r (Summary)
8550 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
8551 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-respool-article}).
8552 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
8553 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
8554 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
8555 Marks will be preserved if @var{gnus-preserve-marks} is non-@code{nil}
8556 (which is the default).
8560 @kindex B w (Summary)
8562 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
8563 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
8564 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
8565 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
8566 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
8567 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
8570 @kindex B q (Summary)
8571 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
8572 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
8573 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
8574 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
8577 @kindex B t (Summary)
8578 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
8579 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
8580 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
8583 @kindex B p (Summary)
8584 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
8585 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
8586 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
8587 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
8588 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
8589 article from your news server (or rather, from
8590 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
8591 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
8592 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
8593 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
8594 just not have arrived yet.
8598 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
8599 @cindex moving articles
8600 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
8601 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
8602 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
8603 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
8604 suggestions you find reasonable. (Note that
8605 @code{gnus-move-split-methods} uses group names where
8606 @code{gnus-split-methods} uses file names.)
8609 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
8610 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
8611 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
8612 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
8616 @node Various Summary Stuff
8617 @section Various Summary Stuff
8620 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
8621 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
8622 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
8623 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
8627 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
8628 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
8629 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
8631 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
8632 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
8633 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
8634 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
8635 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
8636 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
8639 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8640 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
8641 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
8642 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
8643 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
8645 @vindex gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8646 @item gnus-summary-prepared-hook
8647 A hook called as the very last thing after the summary buffer has been
8650 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8651 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
8652 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
8653 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
8654 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
8655 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
8656 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
8657 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
8658 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
8659 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
8661 @vindex gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8662 @item gnus-alter-articles-to-read-function
8663 This function, which takes two parameters (the group name and the list
8664 of articles to be selected), is called to allow the user to alter the
8665 list of articles to be selected.
8667 For instance, the following function adds the list of cached articles to
8668 the list in one particular group:
8671 (defun my-add-cached-articles (group articles)
8672 (if (string= group "some.group")
8673 (append gnus-newsgroup-cached articles)
8680 @node Summary Group Information
8681 @subsection Summary Group Information
8686 @kindex H f (Summary)
8687 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
8688 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
8689 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
8690 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
8691 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
8692 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
8693 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
8694 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
8695 be used for fetching the file.
8698 @kindex H d (Summary)
8699 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
8700 Give a brief description of the current group
8701 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
8702 rereading the description from the server.
8705 @kindex H h (Summary)
8706 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
8707 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
8708 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
8711 @kindex H i (Summary)
8712 @findex gnus-info-find-node
8713 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
8717 @node Searching for Articles
8718 @subsection Searching for Articles
8723 @kindex M-s (Summary)
8724 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
8725 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
8726 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
8729 @kindex M-r (Summary)
8730 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
8731 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
8732 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
8736 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
8737 This command will prompt you for a header, a regular expression to match
8738 on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
8739 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If the header is an empty
8740 string, the match is done on the entire article. If given a prefix,
8741 search backward instead.
8743 For instance, @kbd{& RET some.*string #} will put the process mark on
8744 all articles that have heads or bodies that match @samp{some.*string}.
8747 @kindex M-& (Summary)
8748 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
8749 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
8750 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
8753 @node Summary Generation Commands
8754 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
8759 @kindex Y g (Summary)
8760 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
8761 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
8764 @kindex Y c (Summary)
8765 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
8766 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
8767 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
8772 @node Really Various Summary Commands
8773 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
8779 @kindex C-d (Summary)
8780 @kindex A D (Summary)
8781 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
8782 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
8783 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
8784 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
8785 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
8786 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
8787 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
8788 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
8792 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
8793 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
8794 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
8795 several documents into one biiig group
8796 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
8797 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
8798 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
8799 command understands the process/prefix convention
8800 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
8803 @kindex C-t (Summary)
8804 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
8805 Toggle truncation of summary lines
8806 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
8807 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
8808 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
8812 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
8813 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
8814 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
8817 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
8818 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
8819 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8820 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
8823 @kindex M-C-a (Summary)
8824 @findex gnus-summary-customize-parameters
8825 Customize the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
8826 group (@code{gnus-summary-customize-parameters}).
8831 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
8832 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
8833 @cindex summary exit
8834 @cindex exiting groups
8836 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
8837 group and return you to the group buffer.
8843 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
8845 @findex gnus-summary-exit
8846 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
8847 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
8848 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
8849 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
8850 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
8851 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
8852 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
8853 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
8854 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
8855 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
8859 @kindex Z E (Summary)
8861 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
8862 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
8863 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
8867 @kindex Z c (Summary)
8869 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
8870 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
8871 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
8872 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
8875 @kindex Z C (Summary)
8876 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
8877 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
8878 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
8881 @kindex Z n (Summary)
8882 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
8883 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
8884 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
8887 @kindex Z R (Summary)
8888 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
8889 Exit this group, and then enter it again
8890 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
8891 all articles, both read and unread.
8895 @kindex Z G (Summary)
8896 @kindex M-g (Summary)
8897 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
8898 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
8899 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
8900 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
8901 articles, both read and unread.
8904 @kindex Z N (Summary)
8905 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
8906 Exit the group and go to the next group
8907 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
8910 @kindex Z P (Summary)
8911 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
8912 Exit the group and go to the previous group
8913 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
8916 @kindex Z s (Summary)
8917 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
8918 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
8919 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
8920 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
8921 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
8924 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
8925 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current group
8926 with an ``updating'' exit. For instance @kbd{Q}
8927 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}) does not call this hook.
8929 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
8930 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
8931 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
8932 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
8933 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
8934 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
8935 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
8936 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
8937 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
8938 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
8939 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
8940 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
8942 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
8944 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
8945 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
8946 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
8947 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
8948 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
8949 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
8950 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
8951 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
8952 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
8955 @node Crosspost Handling
8956 @section Crosspost Handling
8960 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
8961 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
8962 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
8963 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
8964 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
8965 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
8968 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
8969 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
8970 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
8971 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
8972 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
8974 @cindex cross-posting
8977 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
8978 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
8979 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
8980 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
8981 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
8982 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
8983 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
8984 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
8985 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
8986 the cross reference mechanism.
8988 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
8989 @cindex overview.fmt
8990 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
8991 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
8992 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
8993 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
8994 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
8995 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
8998 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
8999 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
9000 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
9005 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
9008 @node Duplicate Suppression
9009 @section Duplicate Suppression
9011 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
9012 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
9013 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
9014 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various
9019 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
9020 is evil and not very common.
9023 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
9024 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
9027 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
9028 different @sc{nntp} servers.
9031 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
9034 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
9035 well, but these four are the most common situations.
9037 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
9038 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
9039 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
9040 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
9041 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
9042 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
9043 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
9046 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
9047 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
9048 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
9049 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
9050 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
9054 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
9055 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
9056 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
9058 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
9059 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
9060 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
9061 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
9062 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
9063 session are suppressed.
9065 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
9066 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
9067 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
9068 suppression list. The default is 10000.
9070 @item gnus-duplicate-file
9071 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
9072 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
9073 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
9076 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
9077 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
9078 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
9079 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
9080 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
9081 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
9082 to you to figure out, I think.
9087 Gnus is able to verify PGP or S/MIME signed messages or decrypt PGP
9092 To verify or decrypt PGP messages, you have to install mailcrypt or
9098 @item mm-verify-option
9099 @vindex mm-verify-option
9100 Option of verifying signed parts. @code{never}, not verify;
9101 @code{always}, always verify; @code{known}, only verify known
9102 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9104 @item mm-decrypt-option
9105 @vindex mm-decrypt-option
9106 Option of decrypting encrypted parts. @code{never}, no decryption;
9107 @code{always}, always decrypt @code{known}, only decrypt known
9108 protocols. Otherwise, ask user.
9112 @node The Article Buffer
9113 @chapter The Article Buffer
9114 @cindex article buffer
9116 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
9117 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
9118 tell gnus otherwise.
9121 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
9122 * Using MIME:: Pushing articles through @sc{mime} before reading them.
9123 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
9124 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
9125 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
9129 @node Hiding Headers
9130 @section Hiding Headers
9131 @cindex hiding headers
9132 @cindex deleting headers
9134 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
9135 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
9137 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
9138 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
9139 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
9140 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
9141 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
9142 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
9143 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
9144 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
9145 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
9147 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
9151 @item gnus-visible-headers
9152 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
9153 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
9154 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
9155 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
9157 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
9158 the article and the subject, you'd say:
9161 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
9164 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9167 @item gnus-ignored-headers
9168 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
9169 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
9170 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
9171 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
9172 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
9174 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
9175 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
9178 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
9181 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
9184 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
9185 variable will have no effect.
9189 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
9190 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
9191 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
9192 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
9193 the headers are to be displayed.
9195 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
9196 and then the subject, you might say something like:
9199 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
9202 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
9203 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed in this variable.
9205 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
9206 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
9207 You can hide further boring headers by setting
9208 @code{gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers} to @code{head}. What this function
9209 does depends on the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a
9210 list, but this list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is
9211 lists various @dfn{boring conditions} that Gnus can check and remove
9214 These conditions are:
9217 Remove all empty headers.
9219 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
9220 @code{Newsgroups} header.
9222 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
9225 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
9228 Remove the @code{To} header if it only contains the address identical to
9229 the current groups's @code{to-address} parameter.
9231 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
9234 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
9236 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
9239 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
9242 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
9243 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
9246 This is also the default value for this variable.
9250 @section Using @sc{mime}
9253 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
9254 while people stand around yawning.
9256 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
9257 while all newsreaders die of fear.
9259 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
9260 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
9261 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
9263 @vindex gnus-show-mime
9264 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
9265 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
9266 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
9267 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
9268 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
9269 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
9270 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
9271 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
9272 existed yet, sorry).
9274 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
9275 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
9276 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
9277 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
9278 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
9279 buffer. These can't be avoided.
9281 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
9282 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
9283 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
9284 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
9285 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
9286 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
9287 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
9288 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
9289 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
9292 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
9294 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
9295 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
9296 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
9297 buffer when there are nobody else.
9299 Also see @pxref{MIME Commands}.
9302 @node Customizing Articles
9303 @section Customizing Articles
9304 @cindex article customization
9306 A slew of functions for customizing how the articles are to look like
9307 exist. You can call these functions interactively, or you can have them
9308 called automatically when you select the articles.
9310 To have them called automatically, you should set the corresponding
9311 ``treatment'' variable. For instance, to have headers hidden, you'd set
9312 @code{gnus-treat-hide-headers}. Below is a list of variables that can
9313 be set, but first we discuss the values these variables can have.
9315 Note: Some values, while valid, make little sense. Check the list below
9316 for sensible values.
9320 @code{nil}: Don't do this treatment.
9323 @code{t}: Do this treatment on all body parts.
9326 @code{head}: Do the treatment on the headers.
9329 @code{last}: Do this treatment on the last part.
9332 An integer: Do this treatment on all body parts that have a length less
9336 A list of strings: Do this treatment on all body parts that are in
9337 articles that are read in groups that have names that match one of the
9338 regexps in the list.
9341 A list where the first element is not a string:
9343 The list is evaluated recursively. The first element of the list is a
9344 predicate. The following predicates are recognized: @code{or},
9345 @code{and}, @code{not} and @code{typep}. Here's an example:
9349 (typep "text/x-vcard"))
9353 @code{mime}: Do this treatment if the value of @code{gnus-show-mime}' is
9358 You may have noticed that the word @dfn{part} is used here. This refers
9359 to the fact that some messages are @sc{mime} multipart articles that may
9360 be divided into several parts. Articles that are not multiparts are
9361 considered to contain just a single part.
9363 @vindex gnus-article-treat-types
9364 Are the treatments applied to all sorts of multipart parts? Yes, if you
9365 want to, but by default, only @samp{text/plain} parts are given the
9366 treatment. This is controlled by the @code{gnus-article-treat-types}
9367 variable, which is a list of regular expressions that are matched to the
9368 type of the part. This variable is ignored if the value of the
9369 controlling variable is a predicate list, as described above.
9371 The following treatment options are available. The easiest way to
9372 customize this is to examine the @code{gnus-article-treat} customization
9373 group. Values in parenthesis are suggested sensible values. Others are
9374 possible but those listed are probably sufficient for most people.
9377 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last)
9378 @item gnus-treat-buttonize (t, integer)
9379 @item gnus-treat-buttonize-head (head)
9380 @item gnus-treat-emphasize (t, head, integer)
9381 @item gnus-treat-fill-article (t, integer)
9382 @item gnus-treat-strip-cr (t, integer)
9383 @item gnus-treat-hide-headers (head)
9384 @item gnus-treat-hide-boring-headers (head)
9385 @item gnus-treat-hide-signature (t, last)
9386 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation (t, integer)
9387 @item gnus-treat-hide-citation-maybe (t, integer)
9388 @item gnus-treat-strip-pgp (t, last, integer)
9389 @item gnus-treat-strip-pem (t, last, integer)
9390 @item gnus-treat-highlight-headers (head)
9391 @item gnus-treat-highlight-citation (t, integer)
9392 @item gnus-treat-highlight-signature (t, last, integer)
9393 @item gnus-treat-date-ut (head)
9394 @item gnus-treat-date-local (head)
9395 @item gnus-treat-date-english (head)
9396 @item gnus-treat-date-lapsed (head)
9397 @item gnus-treat-date-original (head)
9398 @item gnus-treat-date-iso8601 (head)
9399 @item gnus-treat-date-user-defined (head)
9400 @item gnus-treat-strip-headers-in-body (t, integer)
9401 @item gnus-treat-strip-trailing-blank-lines (t, last, integer)
9402 @item gnus-treat-strip-leading-blank-lines (t, integer)
9403 @item gnus-treat-strip-multiple-blank-lines (t, integer)
9404 @item gnus-treat-overstrike (t, integer)
9405 @item gnus-treat-display-xface (head)
9406 @item gnus-treat-display-smileys (t, integer)
9407 @item gnus-treat-display-picons (head)
9408 @item gnus-treat-capitalize-sentences (t, integer)
9409 @item gnus-treat-fill-long-lines (t, integer)
9410 @item gnus-treat-play-sounds
9411 @item gnus-treat-translate
9412 @item gnus-treat-decode-article-as-default-mime-charset
9415 @vindex gnus-part-display-hook
9416 You can, of course, write your own functions to be called from
9417 @code{gnus-part-display-hook}. The functions are called narrowed to the
9418 part, and you can do anything you like, pretty much. There is no
9419 information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can change
9423 @node Article Keymap
9424 @section Article Keymap
9426 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
9427 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
9428 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
9429 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
9432 A few additional keystrokes are available:
9437 @kindex SPACE (Article)
9438 @findex gnus-article-next-page
9439 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
9442 @kindex DEL (Article)
9443 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
9444 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
9447 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
9448 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
9449 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
9450 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
9451 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
9454 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
9455 @findex gnus-article-mail
9456 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
9457 given a prefix, include the mail.
9461 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
9462 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
9463 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
9467 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
9468 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
9469 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
9472 @kindex TAB (Article)
9473 @findex gnus-article-next-button
9474 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
9475 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
9478 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
9479 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
9480 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
9486 @section Misc Article
9490 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
9491 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
9492 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
9493 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
9496 @vindex gnus-article-decode-hook
9497 @item gnus-article-decode-hook
9499 Hook used to decode @sc{mime} articles. The default value is
9500 @code{(article-decode-charset article-decode-encoded-words)}
9502 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
9503 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
9504 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
9505 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
9506 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
9507 the contents of the article buffer.
9509 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
9510 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
9511 Hook called in article mode buffers.
9513 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9514 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
9515 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
9516 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
9518 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
9519 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
9520 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
9521 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
9522 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with two
9527 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
9528 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
9531 The number of @sc{mime} parts in the article.
9534 @vindex gnus-break-pages
9536 @item gnus-break-pages
9537 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
9538 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
9539 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
9540 paging will not be done.
9542 @item gnus-page-delimiter
9543 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
9544 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
9549 @node Composing Messages
9550 @chapter Composing Messages
9551 @cindex composing messages
9554 @cindex sending mail
9560 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
9561 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
9562 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the
9563 article by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The
9564 Message Manual}. Where the message will be posted/mailed to depends
9565 on your setup (@pxref{Posting Server}).
9568 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
9569 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
9570 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
9571 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
9572 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
9573 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
9574 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
9575 * Using GPG:: How to use GPG and MML to sign and encrypt messages
9578 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
9579 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
9585 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
9588 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
9589 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
9590 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
9591 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
9593 @item gnus-add-to-list
9594 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
9595 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
9596 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
9601 @node Posting Server
9602 @section Posting Server
9604 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
9605 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
9607 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
9609 @vindex gnus-post-method
9611 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
9612 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
9613 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
9614 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
9615 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
9618 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
9621 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
9622 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
9623 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
9624 the ``current'' server for posting.
9626 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
9627 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
9629 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
9630 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
9633 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
9634 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
9635 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
9640 @section Mail and Post
9642 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
9646 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
9647 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
9648 @cindex mailing lists
9650 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
9651 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
9652 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
9653 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
9654 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
9655 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
9656 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
9657 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
9658 still a pain, though.
9662 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
9663 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
9664 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
9667 @findex ispell-message
9669 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
9672 If you want to change the @code{ispell} dictionary based on what group
9673 you're in, you could say something like the following:
9676 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
9679 ((string-match "^de\\." gnus-newsgroup-name)
9680 (ispell-change-dictionary "deutsch"))
9682 (ispell-change-dictionary "english")))))
9685 Modify to suit your needs.
9688 @node Archived Messages
9689 @section Archived Messages
9690 @cindex archived messages
9691 @cindex sent messages
9693 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
9694 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
9695 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
9696 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
9699 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
9700 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
9701 use to store sent messages. The default is:
9705 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
9706 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
9707 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
9708 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
9711 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
9712 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likable select method
9713 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
9714 directory chosen, you could say something like:
9717 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
9718 '(nnfolder "archive"
9719 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
9720 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
9721 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
9724 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
9726 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
9727 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
9728 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
9730 This variable can be used to do the following:
9734 Messages will be saved in that group.
9736 Note that you can include a select method in the group name, then the
9737 message will not be stored in the select method given by
9738 @code{gnus-message-archive-method}, but in the select method specified
9739 by the group name, instead. Suppose @code{gnus-message-archive-method}
9740 has the default value shown above. Then setting
9741 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{"foo"} means that outgoing
9742 messages are stored in @samp{nnfolder+archive:foo}, but if you use the
9743 value @code{"nnml:foo"}, then outgoing messages will be stored in
9745 @item a list of strings
9746 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
9747 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
9748 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
9750 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
9755 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
9757 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
9760 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
9762 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
9765 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
9767 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9768 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
9769 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
9770 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
9775 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9776 '((if (message-news-p)
9781 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
9782 messages in one file per month:
9785 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
9786 '((if (message-news-p)
9788 (concat "mail." (format-time-string "%Y-%m")))))
9791 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
9792 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
9794 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
9795 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
9796 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
9797 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
9798 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
9799 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
9800 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
9801 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
9802 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
9803 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
9805 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
9806 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
9807 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
9808 this will disable archiving.
9811 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
9812 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
9813 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
9814 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
9815 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
9818 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
9819 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
9820 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
9823 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
9824 but the latter is the preferred method.
9826 @item gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9827 @vindex gnus-inews-mark-gcc-as-read
9828 If non-@code{nil}, automatically mark @code{Gcc} articles as read.
9833 @node Posting Styles
9834 @section Posting Styles
9835 @cindex posting styles
9838 All them variables, they make my head swim.
9840 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
9841 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
9842 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
9845 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
9846 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
9847 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
9848 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
9849 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
9854 (signature "Peace and happiness")
9855 (organization "What me?"))
9857 (signature "Death to everybody"))
9858 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
9859 (organization "Emacs is it")))
9862 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
9863 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
9864 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
9865 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
9866 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
9867 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
9868 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
9869 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
9871 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
9872 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
9873 If it is the symbol @code{header}, then Gnus will look for header that
9874 match the next element in the match, and compare that to the last header
9875 in the match. If it's a function symbol, that function will be called
9876 with no arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
9877 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
9878 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
9881 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
9882 attribute consists of a @code{(@var{name} . @var{value})} pair. The
9883 attribute name can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
9884 @code{organization}, @code{address}, @code{name} or @code{body}. The
9885 attribute name can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as
9886 a header name, and the value will be inserted in the headers of the
9887 article; if the value is @code{nil}, the header name will be removed.
9888 If the attribute name is @code{eval}, the form is evaluated, and the
9889 result is thrown away.
9891 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function with
9892 zero arguments (the return value will be used), a variable (its value
9893 will be used) or a list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value
9894 will be used). The functions and sexps are called/@code{eval}ed in the
9895 message buffer that is being set up. The headers of the current article
9896 are available through the @code{message-reply-headers} variable.
9898 If you wish to check whether the message you are about to compose is
9899 meant to be a news article or a mail message, you can check the values
9900 of the @code{message-news-p} and @code{message-mail-p} functions.
9902 @findex message-mail-p
9903 @findex message-news-p
9905 So here's a new example:
9908 (setq gnus-posting-styles
9910 (signature-file "~/.signature")
9912 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
9913 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
9915 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
9916 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
9917 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
9919 (signature my-news-signature))
9920 (header "From\\|To" "larsi.*org"
9921 (Organization "Somewhere, Inc."))
9922 ((posting-from-work-p)
9923 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
9924 (address "user@@bar.foo")
9925 (body "You are fired.\n\nSincerely, your boss.")
9926 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
9928 (From (save-excursion
9929 (set-buffer gnus-article-buffer)
9930 (message-fetch-field "to"))))
9932 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
9935 The @samp{nnml:.*} rule means that you use the @code{To} address as the
9936 @code{From} address in all your outgoing replies, which might be handy
9937 if you fill many roles.
9944 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
9945 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
9946 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
9947 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
9948 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
9950 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
9951 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
9952 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
9953 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
9954 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
9958 @vindex nndraft-directory
9959 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
9960 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
9961 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
9962 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
9963 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
9964 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
9966 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
9967 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
9970 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
9971 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
9972 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
9973 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
9974 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
9975 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
9976 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
9977 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
9978 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
9979 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
9980 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
9981 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
9982 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
9983 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
9985 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
9986 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
9987 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
9989 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
9991 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
9992 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
9993 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
9995 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
9998 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
9999 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
10000 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
10001 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
10002 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
10003 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
10004 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
10007 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
10008 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
10009 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
10012 @node Rejected Articles
10013 @section Rejected Articles
10014 @cindex rejected articles
10016 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
10017 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
10018 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
10019 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
10021 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
10022 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
10023 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
10024 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
10025 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
10027 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
10028 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
10029 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
10035 Gnus has an ALPHA support to GPG that's provided by @file{gpg.el}. See
10036 @code{mm-verify-option} and @code{mm-decrypt-option} to enable Gnus to
10037 verify or decrypt messages accordingly.
10039 To use this correctly with GPG, you'll need the following lisp code in your
10040 @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10044 (setq mml2015-use 'gpg)
10045 (setq gpg-temp-directory (expand-file-name "~/.gnupg/tmp"))
10048 The @code{gpg-temp-directory} need to point to a directory with permissions set
10049 to 700, for your own safety.
10051 If you want to benefit of PGP2.6 compatibility, you might create a script named
10052 @file{gpg-2comp} with these instructions:
10056 exec gpg --rfc1991 "$@@"
10059 If you don't want to use such compatibility, you can add the following line to
10060 your @file{~/.emacs} or @file{~/.gnus}:
10063 (setq gpg-command-default-alist (quote ((gpg . "gpg") (gpg-2comp . "gpg"))))
10066 To sign or encrypt your message you may choose to use the MML Security menu or
10067 @kbd{M-m s p} to sign your message using PGP/MIME, @kbd{M-m s s} to sign your
10068 message using S/MIME. There's also @kbd{M-m c p} to encrypt your message with
10069 PGP/MIME and @kbd{M-m c s} to encrypt using S/MIME.
10071 Gnus will ask for your passphrase and then it will send your message, if
10072 you've typed it correctly.
10074 @node Select Methods
10075 @chapter Select Methods
10076 @cindex foreign groups
10077 @cindex select methods
10079 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
10080 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
10081 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
10082 personal mail group.
10084 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
10085 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
10086 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
10087 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
10088 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
10089 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
10091 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
10092 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
10094 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
10097 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
10098 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
10099 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
10100 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
10101 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
10103 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
10106 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
10107 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
10108 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
10109 * Browsing the Web:: Getting messages from a plethora of Web sources.
10110 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
10111 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
10112 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
10116 @node The Server Buffer
10117 @section The Server Buffer
10119 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
10120 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
10121 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
10122 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
10123 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
10124 backend represents a virtual server.
10126 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
10127 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
10128 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
10129 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
10131 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
10132 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
10133 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
10134 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
10135 Anyway, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
10136 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
10137 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
10139 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
10140 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
10143 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
10144 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
10145 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
10146 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
10147 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
10148 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
10149 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
10152 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
10153 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
10156 @node Server Buffer Format
10157 @subsection Server Buffer Format
10158 @cindex server buffer format
10160 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
10161 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
10162 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
10163 variable, with some simple extensions:
10168 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
10171 The name of this server.
10174 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
10177 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
10180 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
10181 The mode line can also be customized by using the
10182 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
10183 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
10193 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
10196 @node Server Commands
10197 @subsection Server Commands
10198 @cindex server commands
10204 @findex gnus-server-add-server
10205 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
10209 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
10210 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
10213 @kindex SPACE (Server)
10214 @findex gnus-server-read-server
10215 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
10219 @findex gnus-server-exit
10220 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
10224 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
10225 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
10229 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
10230 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
10234 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
10235 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
10239 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
10240 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
10244 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
10245 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
10246 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
10251 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
10252 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
10253 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
10254 a mail backend that has gotten out of sync.
10259 @node Example Methods
10260 @subsection Example Methods
10262 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
10265 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
10268 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
10274 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
10275 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
10278 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
10279 @code{(@var{variable} @var{form})} pairs.
10281 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
10282 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
10286 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
10289 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
10290 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
10292 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
10293 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
10294 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
10298 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
10301 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
10304 Here's the method for a public spool:
10308 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
10309 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
10315 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
10316 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
10317 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
10318 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
10319 should probably look something like this:
10323 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
10324 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10325 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10326 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10327 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
10330 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
10331 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
10332 server that would look something like this:
10336 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
10337 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
10338 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
10339 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
10340 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
10341 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
10344 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
10345 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
10346 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
10347 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
10350 @node Creating a Virtual Server
10351 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
10353 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
10354 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
10356 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
10357 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
10358 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
10360 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
10362 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
10363 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
10364 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
10365 will contain the following:
10375 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
10376 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
10377 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
10380 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
10381 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
10382 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
10385 @node Server Variables
10386 @subsection Server Variables
10388 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
10389 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
10390 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
10391 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
10392 won't change the "derived" variables.
10394 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
10395 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
10396 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
10397 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
10398 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
10399 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
10400 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
10401 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
10402 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
10406 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
10407 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
10408 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
10412 @node Servers and Methods
10413 @subsection Servers and Methods
10415 Wherever you would normally use a select method
10416 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
10417 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
10418 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
10422 @node Unavailable Servers
10423 @subsection Unavailable Servers
10425 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
10426 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
10427 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
10428 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
10429 actually the case or not.
10431 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
10432 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
10433 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
10434 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
10435 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
10436 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
10437 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
10438 it will regard that server as ``down''.
10440 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
10441 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
10443 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
10444 with the following commands:
10450 @findex gnus-server-open-server
10451 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
10452 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
10456 @findex gnus-server-close-server
10457 Close the connection (if any) to the server
10458 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
10462 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
10463 Mark the current server as unreachable
10464 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
10467 @kindex M-o (Server)
10468 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
10469 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
10470 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
10473 @kindex M-c (Server)
10474 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
10475 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
10476 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
10480 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
10481 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
10482 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
10488 @section Getting News
10489 @cindex reading news
10490 @cindex news backends
10492 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
10493 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
10494 or it can read from a local spool.
10497 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
10498 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
10503 @subsection @sc{nntp}
10506 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
10507 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
10508 server as the, uhm, address.
10510 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
10511 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
10512 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
10513 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
10515 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
10516 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
10517 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
10519 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
10524 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
10525 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
10526 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
10528 @cindex authentification
10529 @cindex nntp authentification
10530 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10531 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
10532 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
10533 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
10534 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
10535 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
10536 present in this hook.
10538 @item nntp-authinfo-function
10539 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
10540 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
10541 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
10542 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
10543 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
10544 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
10545 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
10546 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
10547 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
10548 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
10549 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
10553 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
10556 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs.
10558 The valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
10559 @samp{default}. In addition Gnus introduces two new tokens, not present
10560 in the original @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} syntax, namely @samp{port} and
10561 @samp{force}. (This is the only way the @file{.authinfo} file format
10562 deviates from the @file{.netrc} file format.) @samp{port} is used to
10563 indicate what port on the server the credentials apply to and
10564 @samp{force} is explained below.
10568 Here's an example file:
10571 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
10572 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
10575 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
10576 have to be first, for instance.
10578 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
10579 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
10580 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
10581 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
10582 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
10583 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
10584 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
10586 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
10587 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
10593 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
10594 previously mentioned.
10596 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
10598 @item nntp-server-action-alist
10599 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
10600 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
10601 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
10602 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
10605 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
10606 '(("innd" (ding))))
10609 You probably don't want to do that, though.
10611 The default value is
10614 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
10615 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
10618 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
10619 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
10621 @item nntp-maximum-request
10622 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
10623 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
10624 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
10625 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
10626 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
10627 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
10628 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
10630 @item nntp-connection-timeout
10631 @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
10632 If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
10633 regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
10634 responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
10635 time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
10636 somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
10637 that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
10638 connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
10639 no timeouts are done.
10641 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
10642 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
10643 @c @cindex PPP connections
10644 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
10645 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
10646 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
10647 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
10648 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
10649 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
10650 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
10651 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
10652 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
10653 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
10655 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
10656 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
10657 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
10658 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
10659 @c described above.
10661 @item nntp-server-hook
10662 @vindex nntp-server-hook
10663 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
10666 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
10667 @findex nntp-open-telnet
10668 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
10669 @item nntp-open-connection-function
10670 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
10671 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
10672 functions are supplied:
10675 @item nntp-open-network-stream
10676 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
10679 @item nntp-open-rlogin
10680 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
10681 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
10684 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
10688 @item nntp-rlogin-program
10689 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
10690 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
10691 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
10693 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
10694 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
10695 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
10697 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10698 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10699 User name on the remote system.
10703 @item nntp-open-telnet
10704 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
10705 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
10707 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
10710 @item nntp-telnet-command
10711 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
10712 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
10714 @item nntp-telnet-switches
10715 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
10716 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
10718 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
10719 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
10720 User name for log in on the remote system.
10722 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
10723 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
10724 Password to use when logging in.
10726 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
10727 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
10728 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
10731 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10732 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
10733 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
10734 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
10736 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10737 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
10738 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
10739 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
10740 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
10744 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
10745 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
10746 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
10747 you must have SSLay installed
10748 (@uref{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
10749 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distribution, for instance). You then
10750 define a server as follows:
10753 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
10755 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
10757 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
10758 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
10759 (nntp-port-number "snews")
10760 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
10765 @item nntp-end-of-line
10766 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
10767 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
10768 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
10769 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
10771 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
10772 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
10773 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
10777 @vindex nntp-address
10778 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
10780 @item nntp-port-number
10781 @vindex nntp-port-number
10782 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
10785 @item nntp-list-options
10786 @vindex nntp-list-options
10787 List of newsgroup name used for a option of the LIST command to restrict
10788 the listing output to only the specified newsgroups. Each newsgroup name
10789 can be a shell-style wildcard, for instance, @dfn{fj.*}, @dfn{japan.*},
10790 etc. Fortunately, if the server can accept such a option, it will
10791 probably make gnus run faster. You may use it as a server variable as
10795 (setq gnus-select-method
10796 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10797 (nntp-list-options ("fj.*" "japan.*"))))
10800 @item nntp-options-subscribe
10801 @vindex nntp-options-subscribe
10802 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will be subscribed
10803 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10804 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10805 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10806 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10809 (setq gnus-select-method
10810 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10811 (nntp-options-subscribe "^fj\\.\\|^japan\\.")))
10814 @item nntp-options-not-subscribe
10815 @vindex nntp-options-not-subscribe
10816 Regexp matching the newsgroup names which will not be subscribed
10817 unconditionally. Use @dfn{ } instead of @dfn{$} for a regexp string.
10818 It may be effective as well as @code{nntp-list-options} even though the
10819 server could not accept a shell-style wildcard as a option of the LIST
10820 command. You may use it as a server variable as follows:
10823 (setq gnus-select-method
10824 '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"
10825 (nntp-options-not-subscribe "\\.binaries\\.")))
10828 @item nntp-buggy-select
10829 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
10830 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
10832 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
10833 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
10834 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
10835 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
10838 @item nntp-xover-commands
10839 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
10842 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
10843 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
10847 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
10848 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
10849 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
10850 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
10851 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
10852 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
10853 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
10854 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
10855 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
10856 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
10857 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
10859 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
10860 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
10861 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
10863 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10864 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
10865 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
10866 server closes connection.
10868 @item nntp-record-commands
10869 @vindex nntp-record-commands
10870 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
10871 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestamp) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
10872 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
10873 that doesn't seem to work.
10879 @subsection News Spool
10883 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
10884 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
10885 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
10888 Anyway, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
10889 anything else) as the address.
10891 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
10892 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
10893 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
10894 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
10898 @item nnspool-inews-program
10899 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
10900 Program used to post an article.
10902 @item nnspool-inews-switches
10903 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
10904 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
10906 @item nnspool-spool-directory
10907 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
10908 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
10909 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
10911 @item nnspool-nov-directory
10912 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
10913 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
10914 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
10916 @item nnspool-lib-dir
10917 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
10918 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
10920 @item nnspool-active-file
10921 @vindex nnspool-active-file
10922 The path to the active file.
10924 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
10925 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
10926 The path to the group descriptions file.
10928 @item nnspool-history-file
10929 @vindex nnspool-history-file
10930 The path to the news history file.
10932 @item nnspool-active-times-file
10933 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
10934 The path to the active date file.
10936 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
10937 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
10938 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
10941 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10942 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
10944 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
10945 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
10946 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
10952 @section Getting Mail
10953 @cindex reading mail
10956 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
10960 * Mail in a Newsreader:: Important introductory notes.
10961 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
10962 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
10963 * Mail Sources:: How to tell Gnus where to get mail from.
10964 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
10965 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
10966 * Group Mail Splitting:: Use group customize to drive mail splitting.
10967 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
10968 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
10969 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
10970 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
10971 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
10972 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
10976 @node Mail in a Newsreader
10977 @subsection Mail in a Newsreader
10979 If you are used to traditional mail readers, but have decided to switch
10980 to reading mail with Gnus, you may find yourself experiencing something
10981 of a culture shock.
10983 Gnus does not behave like traditional mail readers. If you want to make
10984 it behave that way, you can, but it's an uphill battle.
10986 Gnus, by default, handles all its groups using the same approach. This
10987 approach is very newsreaderly---you enter a group, see the new/unread
10988 messages, and when you read the messages, they get marked as read, and
10989 you don't see them any more. (Unless you explicitly ask for them.)
10991 In particular, you do not do anything explicitly to delete messages.
10993 Does this mean that all the messages that have been marked as read are
10994 deleted? How awful!
10996 But, no, it means that old messages are @dfn{expired} according to some
10997 scheme or other. For news messages, the expire process is controlled by
10998 the news administrator; for mail, the expire process is controlled by
10999 you. The expire process for mail is covered in depth in @pxref{Expiring
11002 What many Gnus users find, after using it a while for both news and
11003 mail, is that the transport mechanism has very little to do with how
11004 they want to treat a message.
11006 Many people subscribe to several mailing lists. These are transported
11007 via SMTP, and are therefore mail. But we might go for weeks without
11008 answering, or even reading these messages very carefully. We may not
11009 need to save them because if we should need to read one again, they are
11010 archived somewhere else.
11012 Some people have local news groups which have only a handful of readers.
11013 These are transported via @sc{nntp}, and are therefore news. But we may need
11014 to read and answer a large fraction of the messages very carefully in
11015 order to do our work. And there may not be an archive, so we may need
11016 to save the interesting messages the same way we would personal mail.
11018 The important distinction turns out to be not the transport mechanism,
11019 but other factors such as how interested we are in the subject matter,
11020 or how easy it is to retrieve the message if we need to read it again.
11022 Gnus provides many options for sorting mail into ``groups'' which behave
11023 like newsgroups, and for treating each group (whether mail or news)
11026 Some users never get comfortable using the Gnus (ahem) paradigm and wish
11027 that Gnus should grow up and be a male, er, mail reader. It is possible
11028 to whip Gnus into a more mailreaderly being, but, as said before, it's
11029 not easy. People who prefer proper mail readers should try @sc{vm}
11030 instead, which is an excellent, and proper, mail reader.
11032 I don't mean to scare anybody off, but I want to make it clear that you
11033 may be required to learn a new way of thinking about messages. After
11034 you've been subjected to The Gnus Way, you will come to love it. I can
11035 guarantee it. (At least the guy who sold me the Emacs Subliminal
11036 Brain-Washing Functions that I've put into Gnus did guarantee it. You
11037 Will Be Assimilated. You Love Gnus. You Love The Gnus Mail Way.
11041 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
11042 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
11044 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
11045 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
11046 and things will happen automatically.
11048 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
11049 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
11052 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
11053 '((nnml "private")))
11056 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
11057 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
11058 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
11059 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
11060 like any other group.
11062 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
11065 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11066 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11067 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11071 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
11072 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
11073 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
11076 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
11077 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
11078 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
11081 @node Splitting Mail
11082 @subsection Splitting Mail
11083 @cindex splitting mail
11084 @cindex mail splitting
11086 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
11087 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
11088 to be split into groups.
11091 (setq nnmail-split-methods
11092 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
11093 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
11094 ("mail.other" "")))
11097 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
11098 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
11099 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
11100 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
11101 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
11102 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
11103 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
11106 ("list.\\1" "From:.* \\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
11109 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
11110 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
11111 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
11112 mail belongs in that group.
11114 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
11115 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
11116 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
11117 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
11118 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
11119 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
11121 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
11122 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
11123 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
11124 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
11125 thinks should carry this mail message.
11127 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
11128 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
11129 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
11130 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
11132 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
11133 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
11134 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
11135 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
11136 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
11138 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
11141 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
11142 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
11143 links. If that's the case for you, set
11144 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
11145 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
11147 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
11148 @kindex nnmail-split-history
11149 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
11150 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command. If you wish to see
11151 where re-spooling messages would put the messages, you can use
11152 @code{gnus-summary-respool-trace} and related commands (@pxref{Mail
11155 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
11156 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
11157 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
11158 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
11159 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
11160 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
11161 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
11162 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
11163 month's rent money.
11167 @subsection Mail Sources
11169 Mail can be gotten from many different sources---the mail spool, from a
11170 POP mail server, from a procmail directory, or from a maildir, for
11174 * Mail Source Specifiers:: How to specify what a mail source is.
11175 * Mail Source Customization:: Some variables that influence things.
11176 * Fetching Mail:: Using the mail source specifiers.
11180 @node Mail Source Specifiers
11181 @subsubsection Mail Source Specifiers
11183 @cindex mail server
11186 @cindex mail source
11188 You tell Gnus how to fetch mail by setting @code{mail-sources}
11189 (@pxref{Fetching Mail}) to a @dfn{mail source specifier}.
11194 (pop :server "pop3.mailserver.com" :user "myname")
11197 As can be observed, a mail source specifier is a list where the first
11198 element is a @dfn{mail source type}, followed by an arbitrary number of
11199 @dfn{keywords}. Keywords that are not explicitly specified are given
11202 The following mail source types are available:
11206 Get mail from a single file; typically from the mail spool.
11212 The path of the file. Defaults to the value of the @code{MAIL}
11213 environment variable or @file{/usr/mail/spool/user-name}.
11216 An example file mail source:
11219 (file :path "/usr/spool/mail/user-name")
11222 Or using the default path:
11228 If the mail spool file is not located on the local machine, it's best to
11229 use POP or @sc{imap} or the like to fetch the mail. You can not use ange-ftp
11230 file names here---it has no way to lock the mail spool while moving the
11233 If it's impossible to set up a proper server, you can use ssh instead.
11237 '((file :prescript "ssh host bin/getmail >%t")))
11240 The @samp{getmail} script would look something like the following:
11244 # getmail - move mail from spool to stdout
11247 MOVEMAIL=/usr/lib/emacs/20.3/i386-redhat-linux/movemail
11249 rm -f $TMP; $MOVEMAIL $MAIL $TMP >/dev/null && cat $TMP
11252 Alter this script to fit find the @samp{movemail} you want to use.
11256 Get mail from several files in a directory. This is typically used when
11257 you have procmail split the incoming mail into several files. Setting
11258 @code{nnmail-scan-directory-mail-source-once} to non-nil force Gnus to
11259 scan the mail source only once.
11265 The path of the directory where the files are. There is no default
11269 Only files ending with this suffix are used. The default is
11273 Only files that have this predicate return non-@code{nil} are returned.
11274 The default is @code{identity}. This is used as an additional
11275 filter---only files that have the right suffix @emph{and} satisfy this
11276 predicate are considered.
11280 Script run before/after fetching mail.
11284 An example directory mail source:
11287 (directory :path "/home/user-name/procmail-dir/"
11292 Get mail from a POP server.
11298 The name of the POP server. The default is taken from the
11299 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11302 The port number of the POP server. This can be a number (eg,
11303 @samp{:port 1234}) or a string (eg, @samp{:port "pop3"}). If it is a
11304 string, it should be a service name as listed in @file{/etc/services} on
11305 Unix systems. The default is @samp{"pop3"}. On some systems you might
11306 need to specify it as @samp{"pop-3"} instead.
11309 The user name to give to the POP server. The default is the login
11313 The password to give to the POP server. If not specified, the user is
11317 The program to use to fetch mail from the POP server. This is should be
11318 a @code{format}-like string. Here's an example:
11321 fetchmail %u@@%s -P %p %t
11324 The valid format specifier characters are:
11328 The name of the file the mail is to be moved to. This must always be
11329 included in this string.
11332 The name of the server.
11335 The port number of the server.
11338 The user name to use.
11341 The password to use.
11344 The values used for these specs are taken from the values you give the
11345 corresponding keywords.
11348 A script to be run before fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11349 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11352 A script to be run after fetching the mail. The syntax is the same as
11353 the @code{:program} keyword. This can also be a function to be run.
11356 The function to use to fetch mail from the POP server. The function is
11357 called with one parameter---the name of the file where the mail should
11360 @item :authentication
11361 This can be either the symbol @code{password} or the symbol @code{apop}
11362 and says what authentication scheme to use. The default is
11367 If the @code{:program} and @code{:function} keywords aren't specified,
11368 @code{pop3-movemail} will be used.
11370 Here are some examples. Fetch from the default POP server, using the
11371 default user name, and default fetcher:
11377 Fetch from a named server with a named user and password:
11380 (pop :server "my.pop.server"
11381 :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11384 Use @samp{movemail} to move the mail:
11387 (pop :program "movemail po:%u %t %p")
11391 Get mail from a maildir. This is a type of mailbox that is supported by
11392 at least qmail and postfix, where each file in a special directory
11393 contains exactly one mail.
11399 The path of the directory where the mails are stored. The default is
11400 taken from the @code{MAILDIR} environment variable or
11403 The subdirectories of the Maildir. The default is
11404 @samp{("new" "cur")}.
11406 @c If you sometimes look at your mail through a pop3 daemon before fetching
11407 @c them with Gnus, you may also have to fetch your mails from the
11408 @c @code{cur} directory inside the maildir, like in the first example
11411 You can also get mails from remote hosts (because maildirs don't suffer
11412 from locking problems).
11416 Two example maildir mail sources:
11419 (maildir :path "/home/user-name/Maildir/" :subdirs ("cur" "new"))
11423 (maildir :path "/user@@remotehost.org:~/Maildir/" :subdirs ("new"))
11427 Get mail from a @sc{imap} server. If you don't want to use @sc{imap} as
11428 intended, as a network mail reading protocol (ie with nnimap), for some
11429 reason or other, Gnus let you treat it similar to a POP server and
11430 fetches articles from a given @sc{imap} mailbox.
11436 The name of the @sc{imap} server. The default is taken from the
11437 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable.
11440 The port number of the @sc{imap} server. The default is @samp{143}, or
11441 @samp{993} for SSL connections.
11444 The user name to give to the @sc{imap} server. The default is the login
11448 The password to give to the @sc{imap} server. If not specified, the user is
11452 What stream to use for connecting to the server, this is one of the
11453 symbols in @code{imap-stream-alist}. Right now, this means
11454 @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{ssl} or the default @samp{network}.
11456 @item :authentication
11457 Which authenticator to use for authenticating to the server, this is one
11458 of the symbols in @code{imap-authenticator-alist}. Right now, this
11459 means @samp{kerberos4}, @samp{cram-md5}, @samp{anonymous} or the default
11463 The name of the mailbox to get mail from. The default is @samp{INBOX}
11464 which normally is the mailbox which receive incoming mail.
11467 The predicate used to find articles to fetch. The default, @samp{UNSEEN
11468 UNDELETED}, is probably the best choice for most people, but if you
11469 sometimes peek in your mailbox with a @sc{imap} client and mark some
11470 articles as read (or; SEEN) you might want to set this to @samp{nil}.
11471 Then all articles in the mailbox is fetched, no matter what. For a
11472 complete list of predicates, see RFC 2060 §6.4.4.
11475 How to flag fetched articles on the server, the default @samp{\Deleted}
11476 will mark them as deleted, an alternative would be @samp{\Seen} which
11477 would simply mark them as read. These are the two most likely choices,
11478 but more flags are defined in RFC 2060 §2.3.2.
11481 If non-nil, don't remove all articles marked as deleted in the mailbox
11482 after finishing the fetch.
11486 An example @sc{imap} mail source:
11489 (imap :server "mail.mycorp.com" :stream kerberos4 :fetchflag "\\Seen")
11493 Get mail from a webmail server, such as www.hotmail.com,
11494 webmail.netscape.com, www.netaddress.com, www.my-deja.com.
11496 NOTE: Now mail.yahoo.com provides POP3 service, so @sc{pop} mail source
11499 NOTE: Webmail largely depends cookies. A "one-line-cookie" patch is
11500 required for url "4.0pre.46".
11502 WARNING: Mails may lost. NO WARRANTY.
11508 The type of the webmail server. The default is @code{hotmail}. The
11509 alternatives are @code{netscape}, @code{netaddress}, @code{my-deja}.
11512 The user name to give to the webmail server. The default is the login
11516 The password to give to the webmail server. If not specified, the user is
11520 If non-nil, only fetch unread articles and don't move them to trash
11521 folder after finishing the fetch.
11525 An example webmail source:
11528 (webmail :subtype 'hotmail :user "user-name" :password "secret")
11533 @item Common Keywords
11534 Common keywords can be used in any type of mail source.
11540 If non-nil, fetch the mail even when Gnus is unplugged. If you use
11541 directory source to get mail, you can specify it as in this example:
11545 '((directory :path "/home/pavel/.Spool/"
11550 Gnus will then fetch your mail even when you are unplugged. This is
11551 useful when you use local mail and news.
11556 @subsubsection Function Interface
11558 Some of the above keywords specify a Lisp function to be executed.
11559 For each keyword @code{:foo}, the Lisp variable @code{foo} is bound to
11560 the value of the keyword while the function is executing. For example,
11561 consider the following mail-source setting:
11564 (setq mail-sources '((pop :user "jrl"
11565 :server "pophost" :function fetchfunc)))
11568 While the function @code{fetchfunc} is executing, the symbol @code{user}
11569 is bound to @code{"jrl"}, and the symbol @code{server} is bound to
11570 @code{"pophost"}. The symbols @code{port}, @code{password},
11571 @code{program}, @code{prescript}, @code{postscript}, @code{function},
11572 and @code{authentication} are also bound (to their default values).
11574 See above for a list of keywords for each type of mail source.
11577 @node Mail Source Customization
11578 @subsubsection Mail Source Customization
11580 The following is a list of variables that influence how the mail is
11581 fetched. You would normally not need to set or change any of these
11585 @item mail-source-crash-box
11586 @vindex mail-source-crash-box
11587 File where mail will be stored while processing it. The default is
11588 @file{~/.emacs-mail-crash-box}.
11590 @item mail-source-delete-incoming
11591 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
11592 If non-@code{nil}, delete incoming files after handling them.
11594 @item mail-source-directory
11595 @vindex mail-source-directory
11596 Directory where files (if any) will be stored. The default is
11597 @file{~/Mail/}. At present, the only thing this is used for is to say
11598 where the incoming files will be stored if the previous variable is
11601 @item mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11602 @vindex mail-source-incoming-file-prefix
11603 Prefix for file name for storing incoming mail. The default is
11604 @file{Incoming}, in which case files will end up with names like
11605 @file{Incoming30630D_} or @file{Incoming298602ZD}. This is really only
11606 relevant if @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} is @code{nil}.
11608 @item mail-source-default-file-modes
11609 @vindex mail-source-default-file-modes
11610 All new mail files will get this file mode. The default is 384.
11615 @node Fetching Mail
11616 @subsubsection Fetching Mail
11618 @vindex mail-sources
11619 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
11620 The way to actually tell Gnus where to get new mail from is to set
11621 @code{mail-sources} to a list of mail source specifiers
11622 (@pxref{Mail Source Specifiers}).
11624 If this variable (and the obsolescent @code{nnmail-spool-file}) is
11625 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
11628 If you want to fetch mail both from your local spool as well as a POP
11629 mail server, you'd say something like:
11634 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11635 :password "secret")))
11638 Or, if you don't want to use any of the keyword defaults:
11642 '((file :path "/var/spool/mail/user-name")
11643 (pop :server "pop3.mail.server"
11646 :password "secret")))
11650 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
11651 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
11652 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
11653 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
11654 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
11655 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
11659 @node Mail Backend Variables
11660 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
11662 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
11666 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11667 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
11668 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
11669 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
11671 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
11672 @item nnmail-split-hook
11673 @findex article-decode-encoded-words
11674 @findex RFC 1522 decoding
11675 @findex RFC 2047 decoding
11676 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
11677 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
11678 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
11679 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
11680 in the buffer will show up in any files.
11681 @code{gnus-article-decode-encoded-words} is one likely function to add
11684 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11685 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11686 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11687 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
11688 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
11689 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
11690 starting to handle the new mail) and
11691 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
11692 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
11693 default file modes the new mail files get:
11696 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
11697 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
11699 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
11700 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
11703 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
11704 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
11705 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
11706 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
11707 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
11708 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
11709 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
11711 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
11712 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
11713 @findex delete-file
11714 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
11716 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11717 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11718 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
11719 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
11720 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
11725 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
11726 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
11727 @cindex mail splitting
11728 @cindex fancy mail splitting
11730 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
11731 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
11732 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
11733 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
11734 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
11735 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
11737 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
11740 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
11741 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
11742 ;; from real errors.
11743 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
11745 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
11746 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
11747 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
11748 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
11749 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
11750 ;; Other mailing lists...
11751 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
11752 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
11753 ;; Both lists below have the same suffix, so prevent
11754 ;; cross-posting to mkpkg.list of messages posted only to
11755 ;; the bugs- list, but allow cross-posting when the
11756 ;; message was really cross-posted.
11757 (any "bugs-mypackage@@somewhere" "mypkg.bugs")
11758 (any "mypackage@@somewhere\" - "bugs-mypackage" "mypkg.list")
11760 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
11761 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
11765 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
11766 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
11767 the five possible split syntaxes:
11772 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
11773 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
11777 @code{(@var{field} @var{value} @code{[-} @var{restrict}
11778 @code{[@dots{}]}@code{]} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, the
11779 first element of which is a string, then store the message as
11780 specified by @var{split}, if header @var{field} (a regexp) contains
11781 @var{value} (also a regexp). If @var{restrict} (yet another regexp)
11782 matches some string after @var{field} and before the end of the
11783 matched @var{value}, the @var{split} is ignored. If none of the
11784 @var{restrict} clauses match, @var{split} is processed.
11787 @code{(| @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11788 element is @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each @var{split} until
11789 one of them matches. A @var{split} is said to match if it will cause
11790 the mail message to be stored in one or more groups.
11793 @code{(& @var{split}@dots{})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11794 element is @code{&}, then process all @var{split}s in the list.
11797 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
11798 this message. Use with extreme caution.
11801 @code{(: @var{function} @var{arg1} @var{arg2} @dots{})}: If the split is
11802 a list, and the first element is @code{:}, then the second element will
11803 be called as a function with @var{args} given as arguments. The
11804 function should return a @var{split}.
11806 For instance, the following function could be used to split based on the
11807 body of the messages:
11810 (defun split-on-body ()
11812 (set-buffer " *nnmail incoming*")
11813 (goto-char (point-min))
11814 (when (re-search-forward "Some.*string" nil t)
11819 @code{(! @var{func} @var{split})}: If the split is a list, and the first
11820 element is @code{!}, then SPLIT will be processed, and FUNC will be
11821 called as a function with the result of SPLIT as argument. FUNC should
11825 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
11829 In these splits, @var{field} must match a complete field name.
11830 @var{value} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
11831 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
11832 field names or words. In other words, all @var{value}'s are wrapped in
11833 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
11835 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
11836 @var{field} and @var{value} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
11837 are expanded as specified by the variable
11838 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
11839 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
11842 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
11843 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
11844 when all this splitting is performed.
11846 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
11847 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
11848 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
11851 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
11854 In this example, messages sent to @samp{debian-foo@@lists.debian.org}
11855 will be filed in @samp{mail.debian.foo}.
11857 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
11858 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\\1}
11859 up to @samp{\\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
11860 groupings 1 through 9.
11862 @findex nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent
11863 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} is a function which allows you to
11864 split followups into the same groups their parents are in. Sometimes
11865 you can't make splitting rules for all your mail. For example, your
11866 boss might send you personal mail regarding different projects you are
11867 working on, and as you can't tell your boss to put a distinguishing
11868 string into the subject line, you have to resort to manually moving the
11869 messages into the right group. With this function, you only have to do
11870 it once per thread.
11872 To use this feature, you have to set @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to a
11873 non-nil value. And then you can include
11874 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} using the colon feature, like so:
11876 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
11877 '(| (: nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent)
11878 ;; other splits go here
11882 This feature works as follows: when @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} is
11883 non-nil, Gnus records the message id of every message it sees in the
11884 file specified by the variable @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file},
11885 together with the group it is in (the group is omitted for non-mail
11886 messages). When mail splitting is invoked, the function
11887 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-with-parent} then looks at the References (and
11888 In-Reply-To) header of each message to split and searches the file
11889 specified by @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file} for the message ids.
11890 When it has found a parent, it returns the corresponding group name. It
11891 is recommended that you set @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length} to a
11892 somewhat higher number than the default so that the message ids are
11893 still in the cache. (A value of 5000 appears to create a file some 300
11895 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
11896 When @code{nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus
11897 also records the message ids of moved articles, so that the followup
11898 messages goes into the new group.
11901 @node Group Mail Splitting
11902 @subsection Group Mail Splitting
11903 @cindex mail splitting
11904 @cindex group mail splitting
11906 @findex gnus-group-split
11907 If you subscribe to dozens of mailing lists but you don't want to
11908 maintain mail splitting rules manually, group mail splitting is for you.
11909 You just have to set @var{to-list} and/or @var{to-address} in group
11910 parameters or group customization and set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to
11911 @code{gnus-group-split}. This splitting function will scan all groups
11912 for those parameters and split mail accordingly, i.e., messages posted
11913 from or to the addresses specified in the parameters @var{to-list} or
11914 @var{to-address} of a mail group will be stored in that group.
11916 Sometimes, mailing lists have multiple addresses, and you may want mail
11917 splitting to recognize them all: just set the @var{extra-aliases} group
11918 parameter to the list of additional addresses and it's done. If you'd
11919 rather use a regular expression, set @var{split-regexp}.
11921 All these parameters in a group will be used to create an
11922 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split, in which the @var{field} is @samp{any},
11923 the @var{value} is a single regular expression that matches
11924 @var{to-list}, @var{to-address}, all of @var{extra-aliases} and all
11925 matches of @var{split-regexp}, and the @var{split} is the name of the
11926 group. @var{restrict}s are also supported: just set the
11927 @var{split-exclude} parameter to a list of regular expressions.
11929 If you can't get the right split to be generated using all these
11930 parameters, or you just need something fancier, you can set the
11931 parameter @var{split-spec} to an @code{nnmail-split-fancy} split. In
11932 this case, all other aforementioned parameters will be ignored by
11933 @code{gnus-group-split}. In particular, @var{split-spec} may be set to
11934 @code{nil}, in which case the group will be ignored by
11935 @code{gnus-group-split}.
11937 @vindex gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group
11938 @code{gnus-group-split} will do cross-posting on all groups that match,
11939 by defining a single @code{&} fancy split containing one split for each
11940 group. If a message doesn't match any split, it will be stored in the
11941 group named in @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}, unless
11942 some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all}, in which case
11943 that group is used as the catch-all group. Even though this variable is
11944 often used just to name a group, it may also be set to an arbitrarily
11945 complex fancy split (after all, a group name is a fancy split), and this
11946 may be useful to split mail that doesn't go to any mailing list to
11947 personal mail folders. Note that this fancy split is added as the last
11948 element of a @code{|} split list that also contains a @code{&} split
11949 with the rules extracted from group parameters.
11951 It's time for an example. Assume the following group parameters have
11956 ((to-address . "bar@@femail.com")
11957 (split-regexp . ".*@@femail\\.com"))
11959 ((to-list . "foo@@nowhere.gov")
11960 (extra-aliases "foo@@localhost" "foo-redist@@home")
11961 (split-exclude "bugs-foo" "rambling-foo")
11962 (admin-address . "foo-request@@nowhere.gov"))
11964 ((split-spec . catch-all))
11967 Setting @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{gnus-group-split} will
11968 behave as if @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been selected and variable
11969 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} had been set as follows:
11972 (| (& (any "\\(bar@@femail\\.com\\|.*@@femail\\.com\\)" "mail.bar")
11973 (any "\\(foo@@nowhere\\.gov\\|foo@@localhost\\|foo-redist@@home\\)"
11974 - "bugs-foo" - "rambling-foo" "mail.foo"))
11978 @findex gnus-group-split-fancy
11979 If you'd rather not use group splitting for all your mail groups, you
11980 may use it for only some of them, by using @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
11984 (: gnus-mlsplt-fancy GROUPS NO-CROSSPOST CATCH-ALL)
11987 @var{groups} may be a regular expression or a list of group names whose
11988 parameters will be scanned to generate the output split.
11989 @var{no-crosspost} can be used to disable cross-posting; in this case, a
11990 single @code{|} split will be output. @var{catch-all} is the fallback
11991 fancy split, used like @var{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group}.
11992 If @var{catch-all} is @code{nil}, or if @var{split-regexp} matches the
11993 empty string in any selected group, no catch-all split will be issued.
11994 Otherwise, if some group has @var{split-spec} set to @code{catch-all},
11995 this group will override the value of the @var{catch-all} argument.
11997 @findex gnus-group-split-setup
11998 Unfortunately, scanning all groups and their parameters can be quite
11999 slow, especially considering that it has to be done for every message.
12000 But don't despair! The function @code{gnus-group-split-setup} can be
12001 used to enable @code{gnus-group-split} in a much more efficient way. It
12002 sets @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy} and sets
12003 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} to the split produced by
12004 @code{gnus-group-split-fancy}. Thus, the group parameters are only
12005 scanned once, no matter how many messages are split.
12007 @findex gnus-group-split-update
12008 However, if you change group parameters, you'd have to update
12009 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} manually. You can do it by running
12010 @code{gnus-group-split-update}. If you'd rather have it updated
12011 automatically, just tell @code{gnus-group-split-setup} to do it for
12012 you. For example, add to your @file{.gnus}:
12015 (gnus-group-split-setup AUTO-UPDATE CATCH-ALL)
12018 If @var{auto-update} is non-@code{nil}, @code{gnus-group-split-update}
12019 will be added to @code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook}, so you won't ever
12020 have to worry about updating @code{nnmail-split-fancy} again. If you
12021 don't omit @var{catch-all} (it's optional, equivalent to @code{nil}),
12022 @code{gnus-group-split-default-catch-all-group} will be set to its
12025 @vindex gnus-group-split-updated-hook
12026 Because you may want to change @code{nnmail-split-fancy} after it is set
12027 by @code{gnus-group-split-update}, this function will run
12028 @code{gnus-group-split-updated-hook} just before finishing.
12030 @node Incorporating Old Mail
12031 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
12033 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
12034 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
12035 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
12038 Doing so can be quite easy.
12040 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
12041 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
12042 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
12043 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
12044 your @code{nnml} groups.
12050 Go to the group buffer.
12053 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
12054 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12057 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
12060 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
12061 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
12064 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
12065 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
12068 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
12069 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
12070 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
12071 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
12072 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
12074 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
12075 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
12076 using the new mail backend.
12079 @node Expiring Mail
12080 @subsection Expiring Mail
12081 @cindex article expiry
12083 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
12084 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
12085 different approach to mail reading.
12087 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
12088 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
12089 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
12090 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
12091 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
12092 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
12095 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
12096 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
12097 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
12098 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
12099 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
12100 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
12101 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
12102 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
12104 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12105 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
12106 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
12107 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
12108 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
12109 column in the summary buffer.
12111 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
12112 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
12113 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
12114 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
12117 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
12119 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
12120 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
12121 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
12124 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
12125 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
12126 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
12127 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
12128 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
12130 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
12131 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
12134 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
12135 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
12138 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
12139 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
12141 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
12142 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
12143 don't really mix very well.
12145 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
12146 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
12147 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
12148 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
12151 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
12152 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
12153 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
12154 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
12157 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12159 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
12161 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
12163 ((string= group "mail.junk")
12165 ((string= group "important")
12171 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
12172 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
12174 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
12175 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
12176 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
12179 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
12180 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
12182 @vindex nnmail-expiry-target
12183 The normal action taken when expiring articles is to delete them.
12184 However, in some circumstances it might make more sense to move them to
12185 other groups instead of deleting them. The variable @code{nnmail-expiry-target}
12186 (and the @code{expiry-target} group parameter) controls this. The
12187 variable supplies a default value for all groups, which can be
12188 overridden for specific groups by the group parameter.
12189 default value is @code{delete}, but this can also be a string (which
12190 should be the name of the group the message should be moved to), or a
12191 function (which will be called in a buffer narrowed to the message in
12192 question, and with the name of the group being moved from as its
12193 parameter) which should return a target -- either a group name or
12196 Here's an example for specifying a group name:
12198 (setq nnmail-expiry-target "nnml:expired")
12202 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
12203 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
12204 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
12205 easier for procmail users.
12207 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
12208 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
12209 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
12210 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
12211 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
12212 caution. Even more dangerous is the
12213 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
12214 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
12215 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
12216 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
12217 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
12218 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
12219 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
12222 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
12224 @vindex gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire
12225 If @code{gnus-inhibit-user-auto-expire} is non-@code{nil}, user marking
12226 commands will not mark an article as expirable, even if the group has
12227 auto-expire turned on.
12231 @subsection Washing Mail
12232 @cindex mail washing
12233 @cindex list server brain damage
12234 @cindex incoming mail treatment
12236 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
12237 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC 822 doesn't explicitly
12238 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
12239 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
12240 Yes, but RFC 822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
12241 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
12243 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
12244 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
12245 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
12248 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
12249 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
12250 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
12251 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
12254 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12255 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
12256 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
12257 grand, sweeping gestures. It is called in a buffer that contains all
12258 the new, incoming mail. Functions to be used include:
12261 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12262 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
12263 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
12264 Emacs running on MS machines.
12268 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12269 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
12270 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
12271 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
12274 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12275 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
12276 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
12277 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
12279 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12280 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
12281 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
12282 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
12283 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
12284 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
12285 also be a list of regexp. @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} may not contain
12288 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
12289 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
12292 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
12293 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
12296 This can also be done non-destructively with
12297 @code{gnus-list-identifiers}, @xref{Article Hiding}.
12299 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
12300 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
12301 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
12303 @item nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12304 @findex nnmail-fix-eudora-headers
12306 Eudora produces broken @code{References} headers, but OK
12307 @code{In-Reply-To} headers. This function will get rid of the
12308 @code{References} headers.
12312 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12313 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
12314 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
12318 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
12319 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
12320 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
12327 @subsection Duplicates
12329 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
12330 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
12331 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
12332 @cindex duplicate mails
12333 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
12334 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
12335 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
12336 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
12337 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
12338 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
12339 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
12340 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
12341 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
12342 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
12343 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
12344 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
12345 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
12347 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
12348 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
12349 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
12350 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
12352 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
12355 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
12356 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
12360 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
12361 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
12362 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
12363 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
12364 (any mail "mail.misc")
12371 (setq nnmail-split-methods
12372 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
12377 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
12378 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
12379 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
12380 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
12381 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
12384 @node Not Reading Mail
12385 @subsection Not Reading Mail
12387 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
12388 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
12389 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
12391 If you set @code{mail-sources} and @code{nnmail-spool-file} to
12392 @code{nil}, none of the backends will ever attempt to read incoming
12393 mail, which should help.
12395 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12396 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12397 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12398 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12399 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12400 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
12401 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
12402 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
12403 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
12404 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
12405 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
12407 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
12408 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
12412 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
12413 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
12415 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
12416 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
12417 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
12419 There are five different mail backends in the standard Gnus, and more
12420 backends are available separately. The mail backend most people use
12421 (because it is the fastest and most flexible) is @code{nnml}
12422 (@pxref{Mail Spool}).
12425 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
12426 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
12427 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
12428 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
12429 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
12430 * Comparing Mail Backends:: An in-depth looks at pros and cons.
12434 @node Unix Mail Box
12435 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
12437 @cindex unix mail box
12439 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12440 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12441 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
12442 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
12443 which group it belongs in.
12445 Virtual server settings:
12448 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
12449 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
12450 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
12452 @item nnmbox-active-file
12453 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
12454 The name of the active file for the mail box.
12456 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
12457 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
12458 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
12464 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
12468 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12469 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12470 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
12471 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each
12472 mail article to say which group it belongs in.
12474 Virtual server settings:
12477 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
12478 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
12479 The name of the rmail mbox file.
12481 @item nnbabyl-active-file
12482 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
12483 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
12485 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12486 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
12487 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
12492 @subsubsection Mail Spool
12494 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
12496 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
12497 format. It should be used with some caution.
12499 @vindex nnml-directory
12500 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
12501 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
12502 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
12503 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
12505 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
12508 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
12509 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
12510 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
12511 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
12512 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
12513 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
12514 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
12515 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
12517 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
12518 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
12519 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
12520 backend when it comes to reading mail.
12522 Virtual server settings:
12525 @item nnml-directory
12526 @vindex nnml-directory
12527 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
12529 @item nnml-active-file
12530 @vindex nnml-active-file
12531 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
12533 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
12534 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
12535 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
12538 @item nnml-get-new-mail
12539 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
12540 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
12542 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
12543 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
12544 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12546 @item nnml-nov-file-name
12547 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
12548 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
12550 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12551 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
12552 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
12556 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
12557 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
12558 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
12559 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
12560 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
12561 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
12562 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
12567 @subsubsection MH Spool
12569 @cindex mh-e mail spool
12571 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
12572 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
12573 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
12574 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
12576 Virtual server settings:
12579 @item nnmh-directory
12580 @vindex nnmh-directory
12581 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
12583 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
12584 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
12585 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
12588 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
12589 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
12590 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
12591 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
12592 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
12593 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
12594 to set this variable to @code{t}.
12599 @subsubsection Mail Folders
12601 @cindex mbox folders
12602 @cindex mail folders
12604 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
12605 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
12606 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
12609 Virtual server settings:
12612 @item nnfolder-directory
12613 @vindex nnfolder-directory
12614 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
12616 @item nnfolder-active-file
12617 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
12618 The name of the active file.
12620 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12621 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
12622 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
12624 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
12625 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
12626 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
12628 @item nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12629 @vindex nnfolder-save-buffer-hook
12630 @cindex backup files
12631 Hook run before saving the folders. Note that Emacs does the normal
12632 backup renaming of files even with the @code{nnfolder} buffers. If you
12633 wish to switch this off, you could say something like the following in
12634 your @file{.emacs} file:
12637 (defun turn-off-backup ()
12638 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
12640 (add-hook 'nnfolder-save-buffer-hook 'turn-off-backup)
12643 @item nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12644 @vindex nnfolder-delete-mail-hook
12645 Hook run in a buffer narrowed to the message that is to be deleted.
12646 This function can be used to copy the message to somewhere else, or to
12647 extract some information from it before removing it.
12649 @item nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12650 @vindex nnfolder-nov-is-evil
12651 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
12656 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
12657 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
12658 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
12659 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
12660 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
12661 @code{nnfolder-directory}. This only works if you use long file names,
12664 @node Comparing Mail Backends
12665 @subsubsection Comparing Mail Backends
12667 First, just for terminology, the @dfn{backend} is the common word for a
12668 low-level access method---a transport, if you will, by which something
12669 is acquired. The sense is that one's mail has to come from somewhere,
12670 and so selection of a suitable backend is required in order to get that
12671 mail within spitting distance of Gnus.
12673 The same concept exists for Usenet itself: Though access to articles is
12674 typically done by @sc{nntp} these days, once upon a midnight dreary, everyone
12675 in the world got at Usenet by running a reader on the machine where the
12676 articles lay (the machine which today we call an @sc{nntp} server), and
12677 access was by the reader stepping into the articles' directory spool
12678 area directly. One can still select between either the @code{nntp} or
12679 @code{nnspool} backends, to select between these methods, if one happens
12680 actually to live on the server (or can see its spool directly, anyway,
12683 The goal in selecting a mail backend is to pick one which
12684 simultaneously represents a suitable way of dealing with the original
12685 format plus leaving mail in a form that is convenient to use in the
12686 future. Here are some high and low points on each:
12691 UNIX systems have historically had a single, very common, and well-
12692 defined format. All messages arrive in a single @dfn{spool file}, and
12693 they are delineated by a line whose regular expression matches
12694 @samp{^From_}. (My notational use of @samp{_} is to indicate a space,
12695 to make it clear in this instance that this is not the RFC-specified
12696 @samp{From:} header.) Because Emacs and therefore Gnus emanate
12697 historically from the Unix environment, it is simplest if one does not
12698 mess a great deal with the original mailbox format, so if one chooses
12699 this backend, Gnus' primary activity in getting mail from the real spool
12700 area to Gnus' preferred directory is simply to copy it, with no
12701 (appreciable) format change in the process. It is the ``dumbest'' way
12702 to move mail into availability in the Gnus environment. This makes it
12703 fast to move into place, but slow to parse, when Gnus has to look at
12708 Once upon a time, there was the DEC-10 and DEC-20, running operating
12709 systems called TOPS and related things, and the usual (only?) mail
12710 reading environment was a thing called Babyl. I don't know what format
12711 was used for mail landing on the system, but Babyl had its own internal
12712 format to which mail was converted, primarily involving creating a
12713 spool-file-like entity with a scheme for inserting Babyl-specific
12714 headers and status bits above the top of each message in the file.
12715 RMAIL was Emacs' first mail reader, it was written by Richard Stallman,
12716 and Stallman came out of that TOPS/Babyl environment, so he wrote RMAIL
12717 to understand the mail files folks already had in existence. Gnus (and
12718 VM, for that matter) continue to support this format because it's
12719 perceived as having some good qualities in those mailer-specific
12720 headers/status bits stuff. RMAIL itself still exists as well, of
12721 course, and is still maintained by Stallman.
12723 Both of the above forms leave your mail in a single file on your
12724 filesystem, and they must parse that entire file each time you take a
12729 @code{nnml} is the backend which smells the most as though you were
12730 actually operating with an @code{nnspool}-accessed Usenet system. (In
12731 fact, I believe @code{nnml} actually derived from @code{nnspool} code,
12732 lo these years ago.) One's mail is taken from the original spool file,
12733 and is then cut up into individual message files, 1:1. It maintains a
12734 Usenet-style active file (analogous to what one finds in an INN- or
12735 CNews-based news system in (for instance) @file{/var/lib/news/active},
12736 or what is returned via the @samp{NNTP LIST} verb) and also creates
12737 @dfn{overview} files for efficient group entry, as has been defined for
12738 @sc{nntp} servers for some years now. It is slower in mail-splitting,
12739 due to the creation of lots of files, updates to the @code{nnml} active
12740 file, and additions to overview files on a per-message basis, but it is
12741 extremely fast on access because of what amounts to the indexing support
12742 provided by the active file and overviews.
12744 @code{nnml} costs @dfn{inodes} in a big way; that is, it soaks up the
12745 resource which defines available places in the filesystem to put new
12746 files. Sysadmins take a dim view of heavy inode occupation within
12747 tight, shared filesystems. But if you live on a personal machine where
12748 the filesystem is your own and space is not at a premium, @code{nnml}
12751 It is also problematic using this backend if you are living in a
12752 FAT16-based Windows world, since much space will be wasted on all these
12757 The Rand MH mail-reading system has been around UNIX systems for a very
12758 long time; it operates by splitting one's spool file of messages into
12759 individual files, but with little or no indexing support -- @code{nnmh}
12760 is considered to be semantically equivalent to ``@code{nnml} without
12761 active file or overviews''. This is arguably the worst choice, because
12762 one gets the slowness of individual file creation married to the
12763 slowness of access parsing when learning what's new in one's groups.
12767 Basically the effect of @code{nnfolder} is @code{nnmbox} (the first
12768 method described above) on a per-group basis. That is, @code{nnmbox}
12769 itself puts *all* one's mail in one file; @code{nnfolder} provides a
12770 little bit of optimization to this so that each of one's mail groups has
12771 a Unix mail box file. It's faster than @code{nnmbox} because each group
12772 can be parsed separately, and still provides the simple Unix mail box
12773 format requiring minimal effort in moving the mail around. In addition,
12774 it maintains an ``active'' file making it much faster for Gnus to figure
12775 out how many messages there are in each separate group.
12777 If you have groups that are expected to have a massive amount of
12778 messages, @code{nnfolder} is not the best choice, but if you receive
12779 only a moderate amount of mail, @code{nnfolder} is probably the most
12780 friendly mail backend all over.
12785 @node Browsing the Web
12786 @section Browsing the Web
12788 @cindex browsing the web
12792 Web-based discussion forums are getting more and more popular. On many
12793 subjects, the web-based forums have become the most important forums,
12794 eclipsing the importance of mailing lists and news groups. The reason
12795 is easy to understand---they are friendly to new users; you just point
12796 and click, and there's the discussion. With mailing lists, you have to
12797 go through a cumbersome subscription procedure, and most people don't
12798 even know what a news group is.
12800 The problem with this scenario is that web browsers are not very good at
12801 being newsreaders. They do not keep track of what articles you've read;
12802 they do not allow you to score on subjects you're interested in; they do
12803 not allow off-line browsing; they require you to click around and drive
12804 you mad in the end.
12806 So---if web browsers suck at reading discussion forums, why not use Gnus
12809 Gnus has been getting a bit of a collection of backends for providing
12810 interfaces to these sources.
12813 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
12814 * Slashdot:: Reading the Slashdot comments.
12815 * Ultimate:: The Ultimate Bulletin Board systems.
12816 * Web Archive:: Reading mailing list archived on web.
12817 * Customizing w3:: Doing stuff to Emacs/w3 from Gnus.
12820 All the web sources require Emacs/w3 and the url library to work.
12822 The main caveat with all these web sources is that they probably won't
12823 work for a very long time. Gleaning information from the @sc{html} data
12824 is guesswork at best, and when the layout is altered, the Gnus backend
12825 will fail. If you have reasonably new versions of these backends,
12826 though, you should be ok.
12828 One thing all these Web methods have in common is that the Web sources
12829 are often down, unavailable or just plain too slow to be fun. In those
12830 cases, it makes a lot of sense to let the Gnus Agent (@pxref{Gnus
12831 Unplugged}) handle downloading articles, and then you can read them at
12832 leisure from your local disk. No more World Wide Wait for you.
12836 @subsection Web Searches
12840 @cindex InReference
12841 @cindex Usenet searches
12842 @cindex searching the Usenet
12844 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
12845 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
12846 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
12847 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
12848 searches without having to use a browser.
12850 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
12851 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
12852 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
12853 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
12854 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
12856 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
12857 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
12858 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
12859 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
12860 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
12861 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
12862 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
12863 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
12864 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
12865 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
12868 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
12869 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
12870 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'être} is to
12871 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
12872 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
12873 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
12875 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
12876 to use @code{nnweb}.
12878 Virtual server variables:
12883 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
12884 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
12888 @vindex nnweb-search
12889 The search string to feed to the search engine.
12891 @item nnweb-max-hits
12892 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
12893 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
12896 @item nnweb-type-definition
12897 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
12898 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
12899 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
12904 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
12908 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
12911 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
12914 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
12918 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
12925 @subsection Slashdot
12929 Slashdot (@uref{http://slashdot.org/}) is a popular news site, with
12930 lively discussion following the news articles. @code{nnslashdot} will
12931 let you read this forum in a convenient manner.
12933 The easiest way to read this source is to put something like the
12934 following in your @file{.gnus.el} file:
12937 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
12938 '((nnslashdot "")))
12941 This will make Gnus query the @code{nnslashdot} backend for new comments
12942 and groups. The @kbd{F} command will subscribe each new news article as
12943 a new Gnus group, and you can read the comments by entering these
12944 groups. (Note that the default subscription method is to subscribe new
12945 groups as zombies. Other methods are available (@pxref{Subscription
12948 If you want to remove an old @code{nnslashdot} group, the @kbd{G DEL}
12949 command is the most handy tool (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
12951 When following up to @code{nnslashdot} comments (or posting new
12952 comments), some light @sc{html}izations will be performed. In
12953 particular, text quoted with @samp{> } will be quoted with
12954 @code{blockquote} instead, and signatures will have @code{br} added to
12955 the end of each line. Other than that, you can just write @sc{html}
12956 directly into the message buffer. Note that Slashdot filters out some
12959 The following variables can be altered to change its behavior:
12962 @item nnslashdot-threaded
12963 Whether @code{nnslashdot} should display threaded groups or not. The
12964 default is @code{t}. To be able to display threads, @code{nnslashdot}
12965 has to retrieve absolutely all comments in a group upon entry. If a
12966 threaded display is not required, @code{nnslashdot} will only retrieve
12967 the comments that are actually wanted by the user. Threading is nicer,
12968 but much, much slower than untreaded.
12970 @item nnslashdot-login-name
12971 @vindex nnslashdot-login-name
12972 The login name to use when posting.
12974 @item nnslashdot-password
12975 @vindex nnslashdot-password
12976 The password to use when posting.
12978 @item nnslashdot-directory
12979 @vindex nnslashdot-directory
12980 Where @code{nnslashdot} will store its files. The default value is
12981 @samp{~/News/slashdot/}.
12983 @item nnslashdot-active-url
12984 @vindex nnslashdot-active-url
12985 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the information on
12986 news articles and comments. The default is
12987 @samp{http://slashdot.org/search.pl?section=&min=%d}.
12989 @item nnslashdot-comments-url
12990 @vindex nnslashdot-comments-url
12991 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch comments. The
12993 @samp{http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=%s&threshold=%d&commentsort=%d&mode=flat&startat=%d}.
12995 @item nnslashdot-article-url
12996 @vindex nnslashdot-article-url
12997 The @sc{url} format string that will be used to fetch the news article. The
12999 @samp{http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=%s&mode=nocomment}.
13001 @item nnslashdot-threshold
13002 @vindex nnslashdot-threshold
13003 The score threshold. The default is -1.
13005 @item nnslashdot-group-number
13006 @vindex nnslashdot-group-number
13007 The number of old groups, in addition to the ten latest, to keep
13008 updated. The default is 0.
13015 @subsection Ultimate
13017 @cindex Ultimate Bulletin Board
13019 The Ultimate Bulletin Board (@uref{http://www.ultimatebb.com/}) is
13020 probably the most popular Web bulletin board system used. It has a
13021 quite regular and nice interface, and it's possible to get the
13022 information Gnus needs to keep groups updated.
13024 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnultimate} is to say
13025 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{B nnultimate RET
13026 http://www.tcj.com/messboard/ubbcgi/ RET}. (Substitute the @sc{url}
13027 (not including @samp{Ultimate.cgi} or the like at the end) for a forum
13028 you're interested in; there's quite a list of them on the Ultimate web
13029 site.) Then subscribe to the groups you're interested in from the
13030 server buffer, and read them from the group buffer.
13032 The following @code{nnultimate} variables can be altered:
13035 @item nnultimate-directory
13036 @vindex nnultimate-directory
13037 The directory where @code{nnultimate} stores its files. The default is
13038 @samp{~/News/ultimate/}.
13043 @subsection Web Archive
13045 @cindex Web Archive
13047 Some mailing lists only have archives on Web servers, such as
13048 @uref{http://www.egroups.com/} and
13049 @uref{http://www.mail-archive.com/}. It has a quite regular and nice
13050 interface, and it's possible to get the information Gnus needs to keep
13053 The easiest way to get started with @code{nnwarchive} is to say
13054 something like the following in the group buffer: @kbd{M-x
13055 gnus-group-make-warchive-group RET an_egroup RET egroups RET
13056 www.egroups.com RET your@@email.address RET}. (Substitute the
13057 @sc{an_egroup} with the mailing list you subscribed, the
13058 @sc{your@@email.address} with your email address.), or to browse the
13059 backend by @kbd{B nnwarchive RET mail-archive RET}.
13061 The following @code{nnwarchive} variables can be altered:
13064 @item nnwarchive-directory
13065 @vindex nnwarchive-directory
13066 The directory where @code{nnwarchive} stores its files. The default is
13067 @samp{~/News/warchive/}.
13069 @item nnwarchive-login
13070 @vindex nnwarchive-login
13071 The account name on the web server.
13073 @item nnwarchive-passwd
13074 @vindex nnwarchive-passwd
13075 The password for your account on the web server.
13079 @node Customizing w3
13080 @subsection Customizing w3
13086 Gnus uses the url library to fetch web pages and Emacs/w3 to display web
13087 pages. Emacs/w3 is documented in its own manual, but there are some
13088 things that may be more relevant for Gnus users.
13090 For instance, a common question is how to make Emacs/w3 follow links
13091 using the @code{browse-url} functions (which will call some external web
13092 browser like Netscape). Here's one way:
13095 (eval-after-load "w3"
13097 (fset 'w3-fetch-orig (symbol-function 'w3-fetch))
13098 (defun w3-fetch (&optional url target)
13099 (interactive (list (w3-read-url-with-default)))
13100 (if (eq major-mode 'gnus-article-mode)
13102 (w3-fetch-orig url target)))))
13105 Put that in your @file{.emacs} file, and hitting links in w3-rendered
13106 @sc{html} in the Gnus article buffers will use @code{browse-url} to
13110 @node Other Sources
13111 @section Other Sources
13113 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
13114 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
13118 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
13119 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
13120 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
13121 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{soup} packets ``offline''.
13122 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
13123 * IMAP:: Using Gnus as a @sc{imap} client.
13127 @node Directory Groups
13128 @subsection Directory Groups
13130 @cindex directory groups
13132 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
13133 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
13136 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
13137 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
13138 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
13139 backend to read directories. Big deal.
13141 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
13142 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
13143 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
13144 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
13145 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
13147 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
13149 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
13150 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
13151 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
13152 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
13155 @node Anything Groups
13156 @subsection Anything Groups
13159 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
13160 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
13161 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
13164 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
13165 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
13166 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
13167 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're forgetting.
13168 @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it snoops each
13169 file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e., the first
13170 few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head. If this is
13171 just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source file),
13172 @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It will use
13173 file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
13176 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
13177 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
13178 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
13179 in the article buffer, just as usual.
13181 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
13182 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
13183 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
13184 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
13186 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
13187 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
13188 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
13189 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
13190 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
13191 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
13192 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
13193 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
13198 @item nneething-map-file-directory
13199 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
13200 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
13201 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
13203 @item nneething-exclude-files
13204 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
13205 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
13206 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
13208 @item nneething-include-files
13209 @vindex nneething-include-files
13210 Regexp saying what files to include in the group. If this variable is
13211 non-@code{nil}, only files matching this regexp will be included.
13213 @item nneething-map-file
13214 @vindex nneething-map-file
13215 Name of the map files.
13219 @node Document Groups
13220 @subsection Document Groups
13222 @cindex documentation group
13225 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
13226 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
13233 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
13238 The standard Unix mbox file.
13240 @cindex MMDF mail box
13242 The MMDF mail box format.
13245 Several news articles appended into a file.
13248 @cindex rnews batch files
13249 The rnews batch transport format.
13250 @cindex forwarded messages
13253 Forwarded articles.
13256 Netscape mail boxes.
13259 MIME multipart messages.
13261 @item standard-digest
13262 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
13265 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
13268 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
13269 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
13270 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
13273 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
13274 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
13275 group. And that's it.
13277 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
13278 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
13279 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
13280 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
13281 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
13282 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
13283 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
13284 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
13285 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
13286 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
13288 Virtual server variables:
13291 @item nndoc-article-type
13292 @vindex nndoc-article-type
13293 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
13294 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
13295 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{standard-digest},
13296 @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs}, @code{nsmail} or @code{guess}.
13298 @item nndoc-post-type
13299 @vindex nndoc-post-type
13300 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
13301 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
13306 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
13310 @node Document Server Internals
13311 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
13313 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
13314 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
13315 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
13316 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
13318 First, here's an example document type definition:
13322 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
13323 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
13326 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
13327 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
13328 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
13329 types can be defined with very few settings:
13332 @item first-article
13333 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
13334 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
13337 @item article-begin
13338 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
13339 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
13341 @item head-begin-function
13342 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
13345 @item nndoc-head-begin
13346 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
13349 @item nndoc-head-end
13350 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
13351 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
13353 @item body-begin-function
13354 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
13358 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
13361 @item body-end-function
13362 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
13366 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
13369 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
13370 regexp will be totally ignored.
13374 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
13375 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
13376 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
13377 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
13378 something that's palatable for Gnus:
13381 @item prepare-body-function
13382 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
13383 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
13384 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
13386 @item article-transform-function
13387 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
13388 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
13389 body of the article.
13391 @item generate-head-function
13392 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
13393 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
13394 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
13395 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
13399 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
13404 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13405 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
13406 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
13407 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
13408 (head-end . "^ ?$")
13409 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
13410 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
13411 (subtype digest guess))
13414 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
13415 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
13416 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
13417 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
13418 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
13420 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
13421 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
13422 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
13423 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
13424 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
13425 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
13426 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
13427 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
13428 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
13429 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
13437 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
13438 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
13439 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
13441 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
13442 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
13443 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
13446 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something that's a bit
13447 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
13448 that interested in doing things properly.
13450 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
13451 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
13454 First some terminology:
13459 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
13460 get news and/or mail from.
13463 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
13464 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
13467 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
13471 @item message packets
13472 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
13473 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
13474 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13476 @item response packets
13477 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
13478 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
13479 default, where @var{x} is a number.
13489 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
13490 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
13491 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
13492 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
13495 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
13498 You put the packet in your home directory.
13501 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
13502 the native or secondary server.
13505 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
13506 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
13509 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
13513 You transfer this packet to the server.
13516 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
13519 You then repeat until you die.
13523 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
13524 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
13527 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
13528 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
13529 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
13533 @node SOUP Commands
13534 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
13536 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
13540 @kindex G s b (Group)
13541 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
13542 Pack all unread articles in the current group
13543 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
13544 process/prefix convention.
13547 @kindex G s w (Group)
13548 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
13549 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
13552 @kindex G s s (Group)
13553 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
13554 Send all replies from the replies packet
13555 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
13558 @kindex G s p (Group)
13559 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
13560 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
13563 @kindex G s r (Group)
13564 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
13565 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
13568 @kindex O s (Summary)
13569 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
13570 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
13571 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
13572 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
13577 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
13582 @item gnus-soup-directory
13583 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
13584 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
13585 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
13587 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
13588 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
13589 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
13590 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
13592 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
13593 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
13594 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
13595 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
13597 @item gnus-soup-packer
13598 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
13599 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13600 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
13602 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
13603 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
13604 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
13605 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13607 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
13608 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
13609 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
13611 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13612 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
13613 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
13614 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
13620 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
13623 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
13624 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
13625 you can read them at leisure.
13627 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
13631 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
13632 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
13633 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
13634 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
13636 @item nnsoup-directory
13637 @vindex nnsoup-directory
13638 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
13639 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
13641 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
13642 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
13643 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
13644 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
13646 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
13647 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
13648 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
13649 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
13650 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
13652 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
13653 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
13654 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
13655 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
13657 @item nnsoup-active-file
13658 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
13659 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
13660 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
13661 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
13662 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
13664 @item nnsoup-packer
13665 @vindex nnsoup-packer
13666 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
13667 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
13669 @item nnsoup-unpacker
13670 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
13671 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
13672 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
13674 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
13675 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
13676 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
13679 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
13680 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
13681 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
13684 @item nnsoup-always-save
13685 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
13686 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
13692 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
13694 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
13695 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
13696 more for that to happen.
13698 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
13699 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
13700 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
13703 In specific, this is what it does:
13706 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
13707 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
13710 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
13711 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
13712 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
13715 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
13716 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
13717 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
13720 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
13721 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
13722 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
13724 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
13730 @item nngateway-address
13731 @vindex nngateway-address
13732 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
13734 @item nngateway-header-transformation
13735 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
13736 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
13737 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
13738 transformation should be called, and defaults to
13739 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
13740 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
13743 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
13744 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
13745 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
13748 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
13751 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
13754 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
13757 The following pre-defined functions exist:
13759 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13762 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
13763 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13764 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
13766 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13768 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
13769 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
13770 @code{nngateway-address}.
13775 (setq gnus-post-method
13776 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
13777 (nngateway-header-transformation
13778 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
13786 So, to use this, simply say something like:
13789 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
13795 @subsection @sc{imap}
13799 @sc{imap} is a network protocol for reading mail (or news, or ...),
13800 think of it as a modernized @sc{nntp}. Connecting to a @sc{imap} server
13801 is much similar to connecting to a news server, you just specify the
13802 network address of the server.
13804 A server configuration in @code{~/.gnus} with a few @sc{imap} servers
13805 might look something like this:
13808 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
13809 '((nnimap "simpleserver") ; no special configuration
13810 ; perhaps a ssh port forwarded server:
13812 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13813 (nnimap-server-port 1430))
13814 ; a UW server running on localhost
13816 (nnimap-server-port 143)
13817 (nnimap-address "localhost")
13818 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "mail/*")))
13819 ; anonymous public cyrus server:
13820 (nnimap "cyrus.andrew.cmu.edu"
13821 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous)
13822 (nnimap-list-pattern "archive.*")
13823 (nnimap-stream network))
13824 ; a ssl server on a non-standard port:
13826 (nnimap-address "vic20.somewhere.com")
13827 (nnimap-server-port 9930)
13828 (nnimap-stream ssl))))
13831 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nnimap}
13836 @item nnimap-address
13837 @vindex nnimap-address
13839 The address of the remote @sc{imap} server. Defaults to the virtual
13840 server name if not specified.
13842 @item nnimap-server-port
13843 @vindex nnimap-server-port
13844 Port on server to contact. Defaults to port 143, or 993 for SSL.
13846 Note that this should be a integer, example server specification:
13849 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13850 (nnimap-server-port 4711))
13853 @item nnimap-list-pattern
13854 @vindex nnimap-list-pattern
13855 String or list of strings of mailboxes to limit available groups to.
13856 This is used when the server has very many mailboxes and you're only
13857 interested in a few -- some servers export your home directory via
13858 @sc{imap}, you'll probably want to limit the mailboxes to those in
13859 @file{~/Mail/*} then.
13861 The string can also be a cons of REFERENCE and the string as above, what
13862 REFERENCE is used for is server specific, but on the University of
13863 Washington server it's a directory that will be concatenated with the
13866 Example server specification:
13869 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13870 (nnimap-list-pattern ("INBOX" "Mail/*" "alt.sex.*"
13871 ("~friend/Mail/" . "list/*"))))
13874 @item nnimap-stream
13875 @vindex nnimap-stream
13876 The type of stream used to connect to your server. By default, nnimap
13877 will detect and automatically use all of the below, with the exception
13878 of SSL. (SSL is being replaced by STARTTLS, which can be automatically
13879 detected, but it's not widely deployed yet).
13881 Example server specification:
13884 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13885 (nnimap-stream ssl))
13888 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-stream} is a symbol!
13892 @dfn{gssapi:} Connect with GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5). Require the
13893 @samp{imtest} program.
13895 @dfn{kerberos4:} Connect with kerberos 4. Require the @samp{imtest} program.
13897 @dfn{starttls:} Connect via the STARTTLS extension (similar to
13898 SSL). Require the external library @samp{starttls.el} and program
13901 @dfn{ssl:} Connect through SSL. Require OpenSSL (the
13902 program @samp{openssl}) or SSLeay (@samp{s_client}).
13904 @dfn{shell:} Use a shell command to start IMAP connection.
13906 @dfn{network:} Plain, TCP/IP network connection.
13909 @vindex imap-kerberos4-program
13910 The @samp{imtest} program is shipped with Cyrus IMAPD, nnimap support
13911 both @samp{imtest} version 1.5.x and version 1.6.x. The variable
13912 @code{imap-kerberos4-program} contain parameters to pass to the imtest
13915 @vindex imap-ssl-program
13916 For SSL connections, the OpenSSL program is available from
13917 @uref{http://www.openssl.org/}. OpenSSL was formerly known as SSLeay,
13918 and nnimap support it too - although the most recent versions of
13919 SSLeay, 0.9.x, are known to have serious bugs making it
13920 useless. Earlier versions, especially 0.8.x, of SSLeay are known to
13921 work. The variable @code{imap-ssl-program} contain parameters to pass
13924 @vindex imap-shell-program
13925 @vindex imap-shell-host
13926 For IMAP connections using the @code{shell} stream, the variable
13927 @code{imap-shell-program} specify what program to call.
13929 @item nnimap-authenticator
13930 @vindex nnimap-authenticator
13932 The authenticator used to connect to the server. By default, nnimap
13933 will use the most secure authenticator your server is capable of.
13935 Example server specification:
13938 (nnimap "mail.server.com"
13939 (nnimap-authenticator anonymous))
13942 Please note that the value of @code{nnimap-authenticator} is a symbol!
13946 @dfn{gssapi:} GSSAPI (usually kerberos 5) authentication. Require
13947 external program @code{imtest}.
13949 @dfn{kerberos4:} Kerberos authentication. Require external program
13952 @dfn{digest-md5:} Encrypted username/password via DIGEST-MD5. Require
13953 external library @code{digest-md5.el}.
13955 @dfn{cram-md5:} Encrypted username/password via CRAM-MD5.
13957 @dfn{login:} Plain-text username/password via LOGIN.
13959 @dfn{anonymous:} Login as `anonymous', supplying your emailadress as password.
13962 @item nnimap-expunge-on-close
13964 @vindex nnimap-expunge-on-close
13965 Unlike Parmenides the @sc{imap} designers has decided that things that
13966 doesn't exist actually does exist. More specifically, @sc{imap} has
13967 this concept of marking articles @code{Deleted} which doesn't actually
13968 delete them, and this (marking them @code{Deleted}, that is) is what
13969 nnimap does when you delete a article in Gnus (with @kbd{G DEL} or
13972 Since the articles aren't really removed when we mark them with the
13973 @code{Deleted} flag we'll need a way to actually delete them. Feel like
13974 running in circles yet?
13976 Traditionally, nnimap has removed all articles marked as @code{Deleted}
13977 when closing a mailbox but this is now configurable by this server
13980 The possible options are:
13985 The default behavior, delete all articles marked as "Deleted" when
13988 Never actually delete articles. Currently there is no way of showing
13989 the articles marked for deletion in nnimap, but other @sc{imap} clients
13990 may allow you to do this. If you ever want to run the EXPUNGE command
13991 manually, @xref{Expunging mailboxes}.
13993 When closing mailboxes, nnimap will ask if you wish to expunge deleted
13998 @item nnimap-authinfo-file
13999 @vindex nnimap-authinfo-file
14001 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format
14002 is (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See
14003 `nntp-authinfo-file' for exact syntax.
14005 A file containing credentials used to log in on servers. The format is
14006 (almost) the same as the @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file. See the
14007 variable @code{nntp-authinfo-file} for exact syntax; also see
14013 * Splitting in IMAP:: Splitting mail with nnimap.
14014 * Editing IMAP ACLs:: Limiting/enabling other users access to a mailbox.
14015 * Expunging mailboxes:: Equivalent of a "compress mailbox" button.
14020 @node Splitting in IMAP
14021 @subsubsection Splitting in @sc{imap}
14022 @cindex splitting imap mail
14024 Splitting is something Gnus users has loved and used for years, and now
14025 the rest of the world is catching up. Yeah, dream on, not many
14026 @sc{imap} server has server side splitting and those that have splitting
14027 seem to use some non-standard protocol. This means that @sc{imap}
14028 support for Gnus has to do it's own splitting.
14032 Here are the variables of interest:
14036 @item nnimap-split-crosspost
14037 @cindex splitting, crosspost
14039 @vindex nnimap-split-crosspost
14041 If non-nil, do crossposting if several split methods match the mail. If
14042 nil, the first match in @code{nnimap-split-rule} found will be used.
14044 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-crosspost}.
14046 @item nnimap-split-inbox
14047 @cindex splitting, inbox
14049 @vindex nnimap-split-inbox
14051 A string or a list of strings that gives the name(s) of @sc{imap}
14052 mailboxes to split from. Defaults to nil, which means that splitting is
14056 (setq nnimap-split-inbox
14057 '("INBOX" ("~/friend/Mail" . "lists/*") "lists.imap"))
14060 No nnmail equivalent.
14062 @item nnimap-split-rule
14063 @cindex Splitting, rules
14064 @vindex nnimap-split-rule
14066 New mail found in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be split according to
14069 This variable contains a list of lists, where the first element in the
14070 sublist gives the name of the @sc{imap} mailbox to move articles
14071 matching the regexp in the second element in the sublist. Got that?
14072 Neither did I, we need examples.
14075 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14076 '(("INBOX.nnimap" "^Sender: owner-nnimap@@vic20.globalcom.se")
14077 ("INBOX.junk" "^Subject:.*MAKE MONEY")
14078 ("INBOX.private" "")))
14081 This will put all articles from the nnimap mailing list into mailbox
14082 INBOX.nnimap, all articles containing MAKE MONEY in the Subject: line
14083 into INBOX.spam and everything else in INBOX.private.
14085 The first string may contain `\\1' forms, like the ones used by
14086 replace-match to insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For
14090 ("INBOX.lists.\\1" "^Sender: owner-\\([a-z-]+\\)@@")
14093 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
14094 called with the first element of the rule as the argument, in a buffer
14095 containing the headers of the article. It should return a non-nil value
14096 if it thinks that the mail belongs in that group.
14098 Nnmail users might recollect that the last regexp had to be empty to
14099 match all articles (like in the example above). This is not required in
14100 nnimap. Articles not matching any of the regexps will not be moved out
14101 of your inbox. (This might might affect performance if you keep lots of
14102 unread articles in your inbox, since the splitting code would go over
14103 them every time you fetch new mail.)
14105 These rules are processed from the beginning of the alist toward the
14106 end. The first rule to make a match will "win", unless you have
14107 crossposting enabled. In that case, all matching rules will "win".
14109 This variable can also have a function as its value, the function will
14110 be called with the headers narrowed and should return a group where it
14111 thinks the article should be split to. See @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14113 The splitting code tries to create mailboxes if it need too.
14115 To allow for different split rules on different virtual servers, and
14116 even different split rules in different inboxes on the same server,
14117 the syntax of this variable have been extended along the lines of:
14120 (setq nnimap-split-rule
14121 '(("my1server" (".*" (("ding" "ding@@gnus.org")
14122 ("junk" "From:.*Simon")))
14123 ("my2server" ("INBOX" nnimap-split-fancy))
14124 ("my[34]server" (".*" (("private" "To:.*Simon")
14125 ("junk" my-junk-func)))))
14128 The virtual server name is in fact a regexp, so that the same rules
14129 may apply to several servers. In the example, the servers
14130 @code{my3server} and @code{my4server} both use the same rules.
14131 Similarly, the inbox string is also a regexp. The actual splitting
14132 rules are as before, either a function, or a list with group/regexp or
14133 group/function elements.
14135 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
14137 @item nnimap-split-predicate
14139 @vindex nnimap-split-predicate
14141 Mail matching this predicate in @code{nnimap-split-inbox} will be
14142 split, it is a string and the default is @samp{UNSEEN UNDELETED}.
14144 This might be useful if you use another @sc{imap} client to read mail in
14145 your inbox but would like Gnus to split all articles in the inbox
14146 regardless of readedness. Then you might change this to
14149 @item nnimap-split-fancy
14150 @cindex splitting, fancy
14151 @findex nnimap-split-fancy
14152 @vindex nnimap-split-fancy
14154 It's possible to set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14155 @code{nnmail-split-fancy} if you want to use fancy
14156 splitting. @xref{Fancy Mail Splitting}.
14158 However, to be able to have different fancy split rules for nnmail and
14159 nnimap backends you can set @code{nnimap-split-rule} to
14160 @code{nnimap-split-fancy} and define the nnimap specific fancy split
14161 rule in @code{nnimap-split-fancy}.
14166 (setq nnimap-split-rule 'nnimap-split-fancy
14167 nnimap-split-fancy ...)
14170 Nnmail equivalent: @code{nnmail-split-fancy}.
14174 @node Editing IMAP ACLs
14175 @subsubsection Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14176 @cindex editing imap acls
14177 @cindex Access Control Lists
14178 @cindex Editing @sc{imap} ACLs
14180 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-edit-acl
14182 ACL stands for Access Control List. ACLs are used in @sc{imap} for
14183 limiting (or enabling) other users access to your mail boxes. Not all
14184 @sc{imap} servers support this, this function will give an error if it
14187 To edit a ACL for a mailbox, type @kbd{G l}
14188 (@code{gnus-group-edit-nnimap-acl}) and you'll be presented with a ACL
14189 editing window with detailed instructions.
14191 Some possible uses:
14195 Giving "anyone" the "lrs" rights (lookup, read, keep seen/unseen flags)
14196 on your mailing list mailboxes enables other users on the same server to
14197 follow the list without subscribing to it.
14199 At least with the Cyrus server, you are required to give the user
14200 "anyone" posting ("p") capabilities to have "plussing" work (that is,
14201 mail sent to user+mailbox@@domain ending up in the @sc{imap} mailbox
14205 @node Expunging mailboxes
14206 @subsubsection Expunging mailboxes
14210 @cindex Manual expunging
14212 @findex gnus-group-nnimap-expunge
14214 If you're using the @code{never} setting of @code{nnimap-expunge-close},
14215 you may want the option of expunging all deleted articles in a mailbox
14216 manually. This is exactly what @kbd{G x} does.
14218 Currently there is no way of showing deleted articles, you can just
14223 @node Combined Groups
14224 @section Combined Groups
14226 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
14230 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
14231 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
14235 @node Virtual Groups
14236 @subsection Virtual Groups
14238 @cindex virtual groups
14239 @cindex merging groups
14241 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
14244 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
14245 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
14246 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
14248 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
14249 regexp to match component groups.
14251 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
14252 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
14253 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
14254 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
14255 the virtual group.)
14257 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
14258 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
14261 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
14264 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
14265 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
14267 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
14268 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
14269 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
14270 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
14273 "^nntp\\+server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
14276 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
14277 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
14278 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
14280 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
14281 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
14282 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
14283 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
14284 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
14286 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
14287 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
14288 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
14290 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
14291 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
14292 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
14293 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
14294 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
14295 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
14296 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
14297 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
14298 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
14299 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
14300 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
14302 @code{nnvirtual} can have both mail and news groups as component groups.
14303 When responding to articles in @code{nnvirtual} groups, @code{nnvirtual}
14304 has to ask the backend of the component group the article comes from
14305 whether it is a news or mail backend. However, when you do a @kbd{^},
14306 there is typically no sure way for the component backend to know this,
14307 and in that case @code{nnvirtual} tells Gnus that the article came from a
14308 not-news backend. (Just to be on the safe side.)
14310 @kbd{C-c C-t} in the message buffer will insert the @code{Newsgroups}
14311 line from the article you respond to in these cases.
14315 @node Kibozed Groups
14316 @subsection Kibozed Groups
14320 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
14321 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
14322 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
14323 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
14325 @kindex G k (Group)
14326 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
14329 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
14330 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
14331 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
14332 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
14334 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
14335 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
14336 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
14338 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
14339 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
14340 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
14341 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
14342 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
14343 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
14344 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
14345 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
14347 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
14348 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
14349 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
14350 Stranger things have happened.
14352 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
14353 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
14355 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
14356 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
14357 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
14358 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
14359 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
14360 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
14362 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
14363 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
14366 @node Gnus Unplugged
14367 @section Gnus Unplugged
14372 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
14374 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
14375 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
14376 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
14377 read news. Believe it or not.
14379 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
14380 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
14381 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
14382 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
14383 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
14385 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
14386 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
14387 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
14388 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
14389 reading news on a machine.
14391 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
14395 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
14396 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
14400 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
14401 @file{.gnus.el} file:
14408 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
14410 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
14413 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
14414 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
14415 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
14416 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
14417 * Agent and IMAP:: How to use the Agent with IMAP.
14418 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
14419 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
14420 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
14421 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
14422 * Agent Caveats:: What you think it'll do and what it does.
14427 @subsection Agent Basics
14429 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
14431 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
14432 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
14433 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
14434 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
14436 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
14437 connected to the net continuously.
14439 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
14440 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
14442 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
14447 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
14448 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
14449 already fetched while in this mode.
14452 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
14453 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
14454 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged} and use @kbd{g} to check for new mail
14455 as usual. To check for new mail in unplugged mode, see (@pxref{Mail
14456 Source Specifiers}).
14459 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
14460 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{g}
14461 to check if there are any new news and then @kbd{J
14462 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
14463 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
14466 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
14467 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
14468 then you read the news offline.
14471 And then you go to step 2.
14474 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
14480 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
14481 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
14482 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
14483 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
14484 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
14485 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
14488 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}.
14495 @node Agent Categories
14496 @subsection Agent Categories
14498 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
14499 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
14500 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
14501 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
14502 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
14503 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
14504 you're interested in the articles anyway.
14506 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
14507 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
14508 Groups that do not belong in any other category belong to the
14509 @code{default} category. Gnus has its own buffer for creating and
14510 managing categories.
14513 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
14514 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
14515 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
14519 @node Category Syntax
14520 @subsubsection Category Syntax
14522 A category consists of two things.
14526 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
14527 are eligible for downloading; and
14530 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
14531 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
14532 score} is not necessarily related to normal scores.)
14535 A predicate in its simplest form can be a single predicate such as
14536 @code{true} or @code{false}. These two will download every available
14537 article or nothing respectively. In the case of these two special
14538 predicates an additional score rule is superfluous.
14540 Predicates of @code{high} or @code{low} download articles in respect of
14541 their scores in relationship to @code{gnus-agent-high-score} and
14542 @code{gnus-agent-low-score} as described below.
14544 To gain even finer control of what is to be regarded eligible for
14545 download a predicate can consist of a number of predicates with logical
14546 operators sprinkled in between.
14548 Perhaps some examples are in order.
14550 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
14551 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
14557 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
14558 short (for some value of ``short'').
14560 Here's a more complex predicate:
14569 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
14570 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
14573 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
14574 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
14575 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
14577 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
14578 you want to do, you can write your own.
14582 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
14583 lines; default 100.
14586 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
14587 lines; default 200.
14590 True iff the article has a download score less than
14591 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
14594 True iff the article has a download score greater than
14595 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
14598 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
14599 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
14600 checksum and sees whether articles match.
14609 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
14610 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
14611 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
14614 For example, you could decide that you don't want to download articles
14615 that were posted more than a certain number of days ago (e.g. posted
14616 more than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} ago) you might write a function
14617 something along the lines of the following:
14620 (defun my-article-old-p ()
14621 "Say whether an article is old."
14622 (< (time-to-days (date-to-time (mail-header-date gnus-headers)))
14623 (- (time-to-days (current-time)) gnus-agent-expire-days)))
14626 with the predicate then defined as:
14629 (not my-article-old-p)
14632 or you could append your predicate to the predefined
14633 @code{gnus-category-predicate-alist} in your @file{~/.gnus.el} or
14634 wherever. (Note: this would have to be at a point *after*
14635 @code{gnus-agent} has been loaded via @code{(gnus-agentize)})
14638 (setq gnus-category-predicate-alist
14639 (append gnus-category-predicate-alist
14640 '((old . my-article-old-p))))
14643 and simply specify your predicate as:
14649 If/when using something like the above, be aware that there are many
14650 misconfigured systems/mailers out there and so an article's date is not
14651 always a reliable indication of when it was posted. Hell, some people
14652 just don't give a damn.
14654 The above predicates apply to *all* the groups which belong to the
14655 category. However, if you wish to have a specific predicate for an
14656 individual group within a category, or you're just too lazy to set up a
14657 new category, you can enter a group's individual predicate in it's group
14658 parameters like so:
14661 (agent-predicate . short)
14664 This is the group parameter equivalent of the agent category default.
14665 Note that when specifying a single word predicate like this, the
14666 @code{agent-predicate} specification must be in dotted pair notation.
14668 The equivalent of the longer example from above would be:
14671 (agent-predicate or high (and (not low) (not long)))
14674 The outer parenthesis required in the category specification are not
14675 entered here as, not being in dotted pair notation, the value of the
14676 predicate is assumed to be a list.
14679 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
14680 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
14681 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
14682 following headers can be scored on: @code{Subject}, @code{From},
14683 @code{Date}, @code{Message-ID}, @code{References}, @code{Chars},
14684 @code{Lines}, and @code{Xref}.
14686 As with predicates, the specification of the @code{download score rule}
14687 to use in respect of a group can be in either the category definition if
14688 it's to be applicable to all groups in therein, or a group's parameters
14689 if it's to be specific to that group.
14691 In both of these places the @code{download score rule} can take one of
14698 This has the same syntax as a normal gnus score file except only a
14699 subset of scoring keywords are available as mentioned above.
14705 Category specification
14709 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14715 Group Parameter specification
14718 (agent-score ("from"
14719 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" 1000000 nil s))
14724 Again, note the omission of the outermost parenthesis here.
14730 These score files must *only* contain the permitted scoring keywords
14737 Category specification
14740 ("~/News/agent.SCORE")
14746 ("~/News/agent.SCORE" "~/News/agent.group.SCORE")
14750 Group Parameter specification
14753 (agent-score "~/News/agent.SCORE")
14756 Additional score files can be specified as above. Need I say anything
14761 Use @code{normal} score files
14763 If you don't want to maintain two sets of scoring rules for a group, and
14764 your desired @code{downloading} criteria for a group are the same as your
14765 @code{reading} criteria then you can tell the agent to refer to your
14766 @code{normal} score files when deciding what to download.
14768 These directives in either the category definition or a group's
14769 parameters will cause the agent to read in all the applicable score
14770 files for a group, *filtering out* those those sections that do not
14771 relate to one of the permitted subset of scoring keywords.
14775 Category Specification
14782 Group Parameter specification
14785 (agent-score . file)
14790 @node The Category Buffer
14791 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
14793 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
14794 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
14795 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
14797 The following commands are available in this buffer:
14801 @kindex q (Category)
14802 @findex gnus-category-exit
14803 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
14806 @kindex k (Category)
14807 @findex gnus-category-kill
14808 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
14811 @kindex c (Category)
14812 @findex gnus-category-copy
14813 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
14816 @kindex a (Category)
14817 @findex gnus-category-add
14818 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
14821 @kindex p (Category)
14822 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
14823 Edit the predicate of the current category
14824 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
14827 @kindex g (Category)
14828 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
14829 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
14830 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
14833 @kindex s (Category)
14834 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
14835 Edit the download score rule of the current category
14836 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
14839 @kindex l (Category)
14840 @findex gnus-category-list
14841 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
14845 @node Category Variables
14846 @subsubsection Category Variables
14849 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
14850 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
14851 Hook run in category buffers.
14853 @item gnus-category-line-format
14854 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
14855 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
14856 Variables}). Valid elements are:
14860 The name of the category.
14863 The number of groups in the category.
14866 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
14867 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
14868 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
14870 @item gnus-agent-short-article
14871 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
14872 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
14874 @item gnus-agent-long-article
14875 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
14876 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
14878 @item gnus-agent-low-score
14879 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
14880 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
14883 @item gnus-agent-high-score
14884 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
14885 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
14891 @node Agent Commands
14892 @subsection Agent Commands
14894 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
14895 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
14896 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
14900 * Group Agent Commands::
14901 * Summary Agent Commands::
14902 * Server Agent Commands::
14905 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
14906 following incantation:
14908 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14910 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
14915 @node Group Agent Commands
14916 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
14920 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
14921 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
14922 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
14923 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
14926 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
14927 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
14928 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
14931 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
14932 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
14933 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
14934 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
14937 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
14938 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
14939 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
14940 (@code{gnus-group-send-drafts}). @xref{Drafts}.
14943 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
14944 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
14945 Add the current group to an Agent category
14946 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}). This command understands the
14947 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14950 @kindex J r (Agent Group)
14951 @findex gnus-agent-remove-group
14952 Remove the current group from its category, if any
14953 (@code{gnus-agent-remove-group}). This command understands the
14954 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
14957 @kindex J Y (Agent Group)
14958 @findex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
14959 Synchronize flags changed while unplugged with remote server, if any.
14965 @node Summary Agent Commands
14966 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
14970 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
14971 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
14972 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
14975 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
14976 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
14977 Remove the downloading mark from the article
14978 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
14981 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
14982 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
14983 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
14986 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
14987 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
14988 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
14993 @node Server Agent Commands
14994 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
14998 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
14999 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
15000 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
15001 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
15004 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
15005 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
15006 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
15007 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
15013 @subsection Agent Expiry
15015 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-days
15016 @findex gnus-agent-expire
15017 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expire
15018 @cindex Agent expiry
15019 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
15022 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
15023 @code{gnus-agent-expire} command that will expire all read articles that
15024 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expire-days} days. It can be run
15025 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
15026 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
15027 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
15029 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
15030 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
15031 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
15032 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
15033 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
15036 @node Agent and IMAP
15037 @subsection Agent and IMAP
15039 The Agent work with any Gnus backend, including nnimap. However, since
15040 there are some conceptual differences between NNTP and IMAP, this
15041 section (should) provide you with some information to make Gnus Agent
15042 work smoother as a IMAP Disconnected Mode client.
15044 The first thing to keep in mind is that all flags (read, ticked, etc)
15045 are kept on the IMAP server, rather than in @code{.newsrc} as is the
15046 case for nntp. Thus Gnus need to remember flag changes when
15047 disconnected, and synchronize these flags when you plug back in.
15049 Gnus keep track of flag changes when reading nnimap groups under the
15050 Agent by default. When you plug back in, by default Gnus will check if
15051 you have any changed any flags and ask if you wish to synchronize these
15052 with the server. This behavior is customizable with
15053 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags}.
15055 @vindex gnus-agent-synchronize-flags
15056 If @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} is @code{nil}, the Agent will
15057 never automatically synchronize flags. If it is @code{ask}, the
15058 default, the Agent will check if you made any changes and if so ask if
15059 you wish to synchronize these when you re-connect. If it has any other
15060 value, all flags will be synchronized automatically.
15062 If you do not wish to automatically synchronize flags when you
15063 re-connect, this can be done manually with the
15064 @code{gnus-agent-synchronize-flags} command that is bound to @kbd{J Y}
15065 in the group buffer by default.
15067 Some things are currently not implemented in the Agent that you'd might
15068 expect from a disconnected IMAP client, including:
15073 Copying/moving articles into nnimap groups when unplugged.
15076 Creating/deleting nnimap groups when unplugged.
15080 Technical note: the synchronization algorithm does not work by "pushing"
15081 all local flags to the server, but rather incrementally update the
15082 server view of flags by changing only those flags that were changed by
15083 the user. Thus, if you set one flag on a article, quit the group and
15084 re-select the group and remove the flag; the flag will be set and
15085 removed from the server when you "synchronize". The queued flag
15086 operations can be found in the per-server @code{flags} file in the Agent
15087 directory. It's emptied when you synchronize flags.
15090 @node Outgoing Messages
15091 @subsection Outgoing Messages
15093 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
15094 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
15095 after posting, and edit them at will.
15097 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
15098 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
15099 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
15100 messages in the draft group.
15104 @node Agent Variables
15105 @subsection Agent Variables
15108 @item gnus-agent-directory
15109 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
15110 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
15111 @file{~/News/agent/}.
15113 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
15114 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
15115 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
15116 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
15117 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
15120 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15121 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
15122 Hook run when connecting to the network.
15124 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15125 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
15126 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
15131 @node Example Setup
15132 @subsection Example Setup
15134 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
15135 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
15136 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
15139 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over @sc{nntp}
15140 ;;; from your ISP's server.
15141 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.your-isp.com"))
15143 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
15144 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
15145 (setq mail-sources '((pop :server "pop.your-isp.com")))
15147 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
15148 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
15150 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
15154 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
15155 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
15158 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
15159 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
15160 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
15161 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
15162 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
15165 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
15166 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
15167 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
15168 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
15169 back all the killed groups.)
15171 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
15172 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
15173 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
15176 @node Batching Agents
15177 @subsection Batching Agents
15179 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
15180 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
15181 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
15185 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
15189 @node Agent Caveats
15190 @subsection Agent Caveats
15192 The Gnus Agent doesn't seem to work like most other offline
15193 newsreaders. Here are some common questions that some imaginary people
15197 @item If I read an article while plugged, do they get entered into the
15202 @item If I read an article while plugged, and the article already exists
15203 in the Agent, will it get downloaded once more?
15209 In short, when Gnus is unplugged, it only looks into the locally stored
15210 articles; when it's plugged, it only talks to your ISP.
15217 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
15218 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
15219 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
15222 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
15223 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
15224 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
15225 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
15226 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
15228 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
15229 before generating the summary buffer.
15231 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
15232 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
15233 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
15235 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
15236 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
15237 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
15238 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
15241 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
15242 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
15243 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
15244 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
15245 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
15246 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
15247 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
15248 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
15249 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
15250 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
15251 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
15252 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
15253 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
15254 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
15255 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
15256 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
15260 @node Summary Score Commands
15261 @section Summary Score Commands
15262 @cindex score commands
15264 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
15265 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
15266 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
15267 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
15268 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
15270 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
15271 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
15272 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
15273 score file the current one.
15275 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
15280 @kindex V s (Summary)
15281 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
15282 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
15285 @kindex V S (Summary)
15286 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
15287 Display the score of the current article
15288 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
15291 @kindex V t (Summary)
15292 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
15293 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
15294 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
15297 @kindex V R (Summary)
15298 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
15299 Run the current summary through the scoring process
15300 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
15301 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
15302 effect you're having.
15305 @kindex V c (Summary)
15306 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
15307 Make a different score file the current
15308 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
15311 @kindex V e (Summary)
15312 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
15313 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
15314 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
15318 @kindex V f (Summary)
15319 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
15320 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
15321 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
15324 @kindex V F (Summary)
15325 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15326 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
15327 after editing score files.
15330 @kindex V C (Summary)
15331 @findex gnus-score-customize
15332 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
15333 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
15337 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
15342 @kindex V m (Summary)
15343 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
15344 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
15345 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
15348 @kindex V x (Summary)
15349 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
15350 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
15351 expunge all articles below this score
15352 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
15355 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
15356 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
15359 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
15360 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
15364 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
15365 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
15367 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
15368 keys are available:
15372 Score on the author name.
15375 Score on the subject line.
15378 Score on the @code{Xref} line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
15381 Score on the @code{References} line.
15387 Score on the number of lines.
15390 Score on the @code{Message-ID} header.
15393 Score on followups---this matches the author name, and adds scores to
15394 the followups to this author.
15408 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
15409 what headers you are scoring on.
15421 Substring matching.
15424 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
15453 Greater than number.
15458 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
15459 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
15460 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
15464 Temporary score entry.
15467 Permanent score entry.
15470 Immediately scoring.
15475 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
15476 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
15477 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
15478 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
15480 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
15481 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
15482 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
15483 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
15484 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
15486 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
15487 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
15488 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
15489 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
15490 current score file.
15492 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
15493 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
15494 pretend they are keymaps or not.
15497 @node Group Score Commands
15498 @section Group Score Commands
15499 @cindex group score commands
15501 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
15506 @kindex W f (Group)
15507 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
15508 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
15509 all the time. This command will flush the cache
15510 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
15514 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
15516 @findex gnus-batch-score
15517 @cindex batch scoring
15519 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-batch-score
15523 @node Score Variables
15524 @section Score Variables
15525 @cindex score variables
15529 @item gnus-use-scoring
15530 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
15531 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
15532 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
15534 @item gnus-kill-killed
15535 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
15536 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
15537 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
15538 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
15539 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
15540 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
15541 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
15543 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
15544 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
15545 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
15546 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
15547 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
15549 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
15550 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
15551 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
15552 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
15554 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15555 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
15556 @cindex score cache
15557 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
15558 score files. However, if this might make your Emacs grow big and
15559 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
15560 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
15561 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
15562 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
15565 @item gnus-save-score
15566 @vindex gnus-save-score
15567 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
15568 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
15569 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
15571 If you do not set this to @code{t}, then manual scores (like those set
15572 with @kbd{V s} (@code{gnus-summary-set-score})) will not be preserved
15573 across group visits.
15575 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15576 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
15577 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
15578 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
15579 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
15580 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
15581 manually entered data.
15583 @item gnus-summary-default-score
15584 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
15585 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
15587 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
15588 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
15589 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
15590 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
15591 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
15592 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
15594 @item gnus-score-over-mark
15595 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
15596 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
15597 default. Default is @samp{+}.
15599 @item gnus-score-below-mark
15600 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
15601 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
15602 default. Default is @samp{-}.
15604 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15605 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
15606 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
15607 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
15609 Predefined functions available are:
15612 @item gnus-score-find-single
15613 @findex gnus-score-find-single
15614 Only apply the group's own score file.
15616 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
15617 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
15618 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
15619 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
15620 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
15621 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
15622 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
15623 then a regexp match is done.
15625 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
15626 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
15628 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
15629 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
15630 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
15631 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
15633 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15634 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
15635 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
15636 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
15637 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE} for each
15641 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
15642 functions will be called with the group name as argument, and all the
15643 returned lists of score files will be applied. These functions can also
15644 return lists of score alists directly. In that case, the functions that
15645 return these non-file score alists should probably be placed before the
15646 ``real'' score file functions, to ensure that the last score file
15647 returned is the local score file. Phu.
15649 For example, to do hierarchical scoring but use a non-server-specific
15650 overall score file, you could use the value
15652 (list (lambda (group) ("all.SCORE")) 'gnus-score-find-hierarchical)
15655 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
15656 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
15657 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
15658 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
15659 are expired. It's 7 by default.
15661 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15662 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
15663 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
15664 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
15665 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
15666 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
15667 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
15670 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15671 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
15672 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
15674 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
15675 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
15676 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
15677 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
15678 threading---according to the current value of
15679 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
15680 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
15681 simplified in this manner.
15686 @node Score File Format
15687 @section Score File Format
15688 @cindex score file format
15690 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
15691 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
15692 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
15694 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
15698 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
15700 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
15702 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
15704 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
15709 (mark-and-expunge -10)
15713 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
15714 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
15715 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
15716 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
15720 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
15721 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
15723 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
15724 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
15725 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
15727 Six keys are supported by this alist:
15732 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
15733 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
15734 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
15735 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
15736 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
15737 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
15738 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
15739 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
15740 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
15741 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
15742 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
15743 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
15744 to articles that matches these score entries.
15746 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
15747 score entry has one to four elements.
15751 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
15752 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
15756 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
15757 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
15758 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
15759 is successful. If this element is not present, the
15760 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
15761 instead. This is 1000 by default.
15764 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
15765 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
15766 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
15767 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
15768 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
15771 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
15772 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
15773 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
15774 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
15777 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
15778 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
15779 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
15780 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
15781 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
15782 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
15783 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
15784 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
15785 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
15786 instead, if you feel like.
15789 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
15790 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
15792 These predicates are true if
15795 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
15798 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
15799 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
15806 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
15807 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
15808 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
15809 it's not. I think.)
15811 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
15812 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
15813 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
15814 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
15817 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
15818 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
15819 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
15820 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
15821 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
15822 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
15823 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
15827 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
15828 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
15829 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
15830 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
15831 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
15832 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
15833 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
15834 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
15837 @item Head, Body, All
15838 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
15842 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
15843 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
15844 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
15845 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
15846 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
15847 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
15848 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
15852 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
15853 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an
15854 article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{x}, then you add a @samp{thread}
15855 match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each article that
15856 has @var{x} in its @code{References} header. (These new @samp{thread}
15857 matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching articles.)
15858 This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an entire thread,
15859 even though some articles in the thread may not have complete
15860 @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
15861 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
15862 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
15866 @cindex Score File Atoms
15868 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15869 lower than this number will be marked as read.
15872 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15873 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
15875 @item mark-and-expunge
15876 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
15877 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
15880 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
15881 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
15882 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
15883 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
15884 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
15887 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
15888 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
15891 @item exclude-files
15892 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
15893 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
15897 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
15898 ignored when handling global score files.
15901 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
15902 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
15903 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
15904 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
15907 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
15908 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
15909 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
15910 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
15912 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
15916 (mark-and-expunge -100)
15919 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
15920 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
15921 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
15922 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
15923 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
15925 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
15926 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
15927 ordinary scoring rules.
15930 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
15931 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
15932 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
15933 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
15934 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
15935 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
15936 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
15937 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
15938 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
15939 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
15940 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
15944 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
15945 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
15946 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
15947 file for a number of groups.
15950 @cindex local variables
15951 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
15952 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
15953 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
15954 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
15955 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
15959 @node Score File Editing
15960 @section Score File Editing
15962 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
15963 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
15964 with a mode for that.
15966 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
15967 additional commands:
15972 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
15973 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
15974 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
15975 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
15978 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
15979 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
15980 Insert the current date in numerical format
15981 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
15982 you were wondering.
15985 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
15986 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
15987 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
15988 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
15989 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
15994 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
15996 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
15997 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
15999 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
16000 e} to begin editing score files.
16003 @node Adaptive Scoring
16004 @section Adaptive Scoring
16005 @cindex adaptive scoring
16007 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
16008 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
16009 stupidity, to be precise.
16011 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
16012 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
16013 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
16014 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
16015 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
16016 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
16017 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
16018 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
16019 variable to @code{(word line)}.
16021 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16022 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
16023 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
16024 might look something like this:
16027 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
16028 '((gnus-unread-mark)
16029 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
16030 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
16031 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
16032 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
16033 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
16034 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
16035 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
16036 (gnus-ancient-mark)
16037 (gnus-low-score-mark)
16038 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
16041 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
16042 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
16043 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
16044 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
16045 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
16046 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
16049 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
16050 will be applied to each article.
16052 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
16053 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
16054 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
16055 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
16057 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
16058 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
16059 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
16060 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
16062 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
16063 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
16064 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
16065 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
16067 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
16068 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
16069 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
16070 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
16071 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
16072 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
16074 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
16075 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
16076 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
16077 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
16078 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
16079 aspirins afterwards.)
16081 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
16082 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
16083 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
16085 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
16086 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
16087 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
16089 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
16090 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
16091 let you use different rules in different groups.
16093 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
16094 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
16095 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
16098 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
16099 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
16100 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
16101 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
16102 the length of the match is less than
16103 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
16104 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
16107 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16108 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
16109 headers. If you adapt on words, the
16110 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
16111 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
16114 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
16115 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
16116 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
16117 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
16118 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
16121 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
16122 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
16123 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
16124 score with 30 points.
16126 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
16127 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
16128 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
16129 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
16130 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
16132 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
16133 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
16134 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
16135 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
16137 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
16138 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
16139 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
16140 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
16142 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words
16143 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-no-group-words} is set to @code{t}, gnus
16144 won't adaptively word score any of the words in the group name. Useful
16145 for groups like @samp{comp.editors.emacs}, where most of the subject
16146 lines contain the word @samp{emacs}.
16148 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
16149 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
16150 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
16152 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
16153 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
16154 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
16155 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
16158 @node Home Score File
16159 @section Home Score File
16161 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
16162 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
16163 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
16164 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
16166 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
16167 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
16168 could perhaps use the same home score file.
16170 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
16171 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
16176 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
16180 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
16181 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
16185 A list. The elements in this list can be:
16189 @code{(@var{regexp} @var{file-name})}. If the @var{regexp} matches the
16190 group name, the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
16193 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
16194 the home score file.
16197 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
16200 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
16205 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
16208 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16209 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
16212 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
16213 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
16215 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
16217 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16218 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
16221 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
16222 Other functions include
16225 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
16226 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
16227 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
16228 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
16232 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
16233 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
16234 their own home score files:
16237 (setq gnus-home-score-file
16238 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
16239 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
16240 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
16241 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
16244 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
16245 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
16246 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
16247 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
16248 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
16250 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
16251 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
16252 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
16253 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
16254 precedence over this variable.
16257 @node Followups To Yourself
16258 @section Followups To Yourself
16260 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
16261 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
16262 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
16263 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
16264 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
16265 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
16269 @item gnus-score-followup-article
16270 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
16271 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
16274 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
16275 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
16276 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
16280 @vindex message-sent-hook
16281 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
16282 @code{message-sent-hook}, like this:
16284 (add-hook 'message-sent-hook 'gnus-score-followup-thread)
16288 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
16289 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
16293 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16294 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
16297 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
16298 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
16303 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore\\.no>"
16307 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
16308 is system-dependent.
16312 @section Scoring Tips
16313 @cindex scoring tips
16319 @cindex scoring crossposts
16320 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
16321 the @code{Xref} header.
16323 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
16326 @item Multiple crossposts
16327 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
16328 more than, say, 3 groups:
16330 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
16333 @item Matching on the body
16334 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
16335 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
16336 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
16337 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
16338 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
16339 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
16340 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
16343 @item Marking as read
16344 You will probably want to mark articles that have scores below a certain
16345 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
16346 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
16350 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
16352 @item Negated character classes
16353 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
16354 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
16355 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
16359 @node Reverse Scoring
16360 @section Reverse Scoring
16361 @cindex reverse scoring
16363 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
16364 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
16365 like this in your score file:
16369 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
16374 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
16375 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
16378 @node Global Score Files
16379 @section Global Score Files
16380 @cindex global score files
16382 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
16383 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
16384 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
16386 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
16387 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
16388 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
16390 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
16391 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
16392 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
16393 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
16394 files are applicable to which group.
16396 Say you want to use the score file
16397 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
16398 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
16401 (setq gnus-global-score-files
16402 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
16403 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
16406 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
16407 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
16408 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
16409 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
16410 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
16412 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
16413 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
16415 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
16416 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
16417 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
16418 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
16419 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
16420 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
16422 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
16428 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
16430 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
16432 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
16434 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
16435 lowered out of existence.
16437 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
16438 articles completely.
16441 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
16442 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
16443 old articles for a long time.
16446 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
16447 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
16448 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
16449 holding our breath yet?
16453 @section Kill Files
16456 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
16457 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
16458 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
16460 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
16461 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
16462 files into score files.
16464 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
16465 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
16466 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
16467 that isn't a very good idea.
16469 Normal kill files look like this:
16472 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16473 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
16477 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
16478 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
16480 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
16481 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
16484 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
16489 @kindex M-k (Summary)
16490 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
16491 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
16494 @kindex M-K (Summary)
16495 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
16496 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
16499 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
16504 @kindex M-k (Group)
16505 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
16506 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
16509 @kindex M-K (Group)
16510 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
16511 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
16514 Kill file variables:
16517 @item gnus-kill-file-name
16518 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
16519 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
16520 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
16521 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
16522 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
16523 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
16525 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16526 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
16527 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
16528 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
16531 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
16532 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
16533 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
16534 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
16535 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
16536 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
16537 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
16538 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
16539 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
16541 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16542 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
16543 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
16548 @node Converting Kill Files
16549 @section Converting Kill Files
16551 @cindex converting kill files
16553 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
16554 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
16555 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
16558 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
16559 You can fetch it from
16560 @uref{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-various/gnus-kill-to-score.el}.
16562 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
16563 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
16564 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
16572 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
16573 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
16574 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
16576 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
16577 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
16578 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
16579 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
16580 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
16581 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
16582 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
16583 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
16587 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
16588 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
16589 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
16590 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
16594 @node Using GroupLens
16595 @subsection Using GroupLens
16597 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
16599 @uref{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
16600 better bit in town at the moment.
16602 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
16606 @item gnus-use-grouplens
16607 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
16608 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
16609 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
16611 @item grouplens-pseudonym
16612 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
16613 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
16614 with the Better Bit Bureau.
16616 @item grouplens-newsgroups
16617 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
16618 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
16622 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
16623 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
16624 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
16625 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
16626 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
16627 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
16630 @node Rating Articles
16631 @subsection Rating Articles
16633 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
16634 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
16635 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
16636 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
16639 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
16644 @kindex r (GroupLens)
16645 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
16646 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
16649 @kindex k (GroupLens)
16650 @findex grouplens-score-thread
16651 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
16652 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
16653 threads in rec.humor.
16657 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
16658 the score of the article you're reading.
16663 @kindex n (GroupLens)
16664 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
16665 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
16668 @kindex , (GroupLens)
16669 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
16670 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
16674 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
16675 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
16678 @node Displaying Predictions
16679 @subsection Displaying Predictions
16681 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
16682 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
16683 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
16684 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
16685 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
16687 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
16688 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
16689 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
16690 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
16691 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
16692 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
16693 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
16694 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
16695 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
16696 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
16697 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
16698 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
16699 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
16701 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
16702 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
16703 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
16704 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
16706 The following are valid values for that variable.
16709 @item prediction-spot
16710 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
16713 @item confidence-interval
16714 A numeric confidence interval.
16716 @item prediction-bar
16717 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
16719 @item confidence-bar
16720 Numerical confidence.
16722 @item confidence-spot
16723 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
16725 @item prediction-num
16726 Plain-old numeric value.
16728 @item confidence-plus-minus
16729 Prediction +/- confidence.
16734 @node GroupLens Variables
16735 @subsection GroupLens Variables
16739 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
16740 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
16741 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
16742 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
16745 @item grouplens-bbb-host
16746 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
16749 @item grouplens-bbb-port
16750 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
16752 @item grouplens-score-offset
16753 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
16754 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
16757 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
16758 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
16759 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
16764 @node Advanced Scoring
16765 @section Advanced Scoring
16767 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
16768 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
16769 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
16770 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
16771 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
16773 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
16777 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
16778 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
16779 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
16783 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
16784 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
16786 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
16787 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
16788 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
16789 non-@code{nil} value.
16791 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
16792 operator, and various match operators.
16799 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16800 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
16801 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
16806 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
16807 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
16808 then this operator will return @code{false}.
16813 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
16814 logical negation of the value of its argument.
16818 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
16819 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
16820 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
16821 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
16822 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
16823 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
16824 the ancestry you want to go.
16826 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
16827 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
16828 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
16829 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
16830 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
16833 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
16834 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
16836 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
16837 when he's talking about Gnus:
16841 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16842 ("subject" "Gnus"))
16848 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
16852 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16859 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
16860 really don't want to read what he's written:
16864 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
16865 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
16869 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
16870 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
16871 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
16878 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
16879 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
16880 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
16881 ("body" "white.*socks"))
16885 The possibilities are endless.
16888 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
16889 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
16891 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
16892 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
16893 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
16894 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
16895 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
16896 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
16897 @samp{subject}) first.
16899 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
16900 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
16911 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
16912 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
16918 ("subject" "Gnus")))
16925 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
16926 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
16931 @section Score Decays
16932 @cindex score decays
16935 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
16936 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
16937 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
16938 use them in any sensible way.
16940 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
16941 @findex gnus-decay-score
16942 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
16943 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
16944 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
16945 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
16946 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
16947 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
16948 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
16949 definition of that function:
16952 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
16954 This is done according to `gnus-score-decay-constant'
16955 and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
16958 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
16960 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
16962 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
16965 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
16966 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
16967 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
16968 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
16972 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
16975 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
16978 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
16982 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
16983 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
16984 the new score, which should be an integer.
16986 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
16987 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
16994 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
16995 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
16996 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
16997 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
16998 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
16999 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
17000 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
17001 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
17002 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
17003 * Buttons:: Get tendinitis in ten easy steps!
17004 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
17005 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
17006 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
17007 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
17008 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
17009 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
17010 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
17011 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
17015 @node Process/Prefix
17016 @section Process/Prefix
17017 @cindex process/prefix convention
17019 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
17020 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
17022 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
17023 command to be performed on.
17027 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
17028 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
17029 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
17030 with the current one.
17032 @vindex transient-mark-mode
17033 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
17034 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
17036 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
17037 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
17040 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
17041 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
17043 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
17046 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
17047 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
17048 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
17049 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
17051 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
17052 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
17053 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
17054 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
17055 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
17056 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
17057 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
17058 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
17060 Many commands do not use the process/prefix convention. All commands
17061 that do explicitly say so in this manual. To apply the process/prefix
17062 convention to commands that do not use it, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
17063 command. For instance, to mark all the articles in the group as
17064 expirable, you could say `M P b M-& E'.
17068 @section Interactive
17069 @cindex interaction
17073 @item gnus-novice-user
17074 @vindex gnus-novice-user
17075 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
17076 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
17077 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
17078 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
17081 @item gnus-expert-user
17082 @vindex gnus-expert-user
17083 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
17084 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
17085 matter how strange.
17087 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
17088 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
17089 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
17090 is @code{t} by default.
17092 @item gnus-interactive-exit
17093 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
17094 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
17099 @node Symbolic Prefixes
17100 @section Symbolic Prefixes
17101 @cindex symbolic prefixes
17103 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
17104 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
17105 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
17106 rule of 900 to the current article.
17108 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
17109 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
17110 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
17111 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
17112 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
17113 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
17114 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
17116 @kindex M-i (Summary)
17117 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
17118 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
17119 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
17120 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
17121 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
17122 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
17123 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
17124 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
17126 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
17127 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
17128 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
17130 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
17134 @node Formatting Variables
17135 @section Formatting Variables
17136 @cindex formatting variables
17138 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
17139 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
17140 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
17141 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
17142 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
17145 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
17146 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
17147 lots of percentages everywhere.
17150 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
17151 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
17152 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
17153 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
17154 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
17157 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
17158 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
17159 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
17160 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
17161 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
17162 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
17163 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
17164 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
17166 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
17167 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
17169 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
17170 @findex gnus-update-format
17171 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
17172 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
17173 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
17174 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
17178 @node Formatting Basics
17179 @subsection Formatting Basics
17181 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
17182 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
17183 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
17185 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
17186 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
17187 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
17188 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
17189 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
17192 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
17193 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
17194 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
17195 less than 4 characters wide.
17198 @node Mode Line Formatting
17199 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
17201 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
17202 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
17203 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
17204 with the following two differences:
17209 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
17212 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
17213 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
17214 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
17215 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
17216 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
17217 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
17218 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
17223 @node Advanced Formatting
17224 @subsection Advanced Formatting
17226 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
17227 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
17228 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
17229 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
17231 These are the valid modifiers:
17236 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
17240 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
17245 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
17248 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
17253 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
17256 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
17259 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
17262 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
17266 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
17267 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
17268 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
17269 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
17270 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
17271 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
17272 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
17274 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
17275 last operation, padding.
17277 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17278 If @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} is set to @code{nil} (@code{t} by
17279 default) with your strong personality, and use a lots of these advanced
17280 thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets quite slow. This can be helped
17281 enormously by running @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with
17282 the look of your lines.
17283 @xref{Compilation}.
17286 @node User-Defined Specs
17287 @subsection User-Defined Specs
17289 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
17290 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
17291 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
17292 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
17293 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
17294 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
17295 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
17296 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
17297 should protect against that.
17299 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
17300 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
17301 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
17302 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
17306 @node Formatting Fonts
17307 @subsection Formatting Fonts
17309 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
17310 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
17311 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
17312 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
17315 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
17316 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
17317 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
17318 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
17319 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
17320 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
17322 Text inside the @samp{%<} and @samp{%>} specifiers will get the special
17323 @code{balloon-help} property set to @code{gnus-balloon-face-0}. If you
17324 say @samp{%1<}, you'll get @code{gnus-balloon-face-1} and so on. The
17325 @code{gnus-balloon-face-*} variables should be either strings or symbols
17326 naming functions that return a string. Under @code{balloon-help-mode},
17327 when the mouse passes over text with this property set, a balloon window
17328 will appear and display the string. Please refer to the doc string of
17329 @code{balloon-help-mode} for more information on this.
17331 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
17334 ;; Create three face types.
17335 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
17336 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
17338 ;; We want the article count to be in
17339 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
17340 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
17341 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
17343 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
17344 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
17346 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
17347 (setq gnus-group-line-format
17348 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
17351 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
17352 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
17354 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
17355 mode-line variables.
17358 @node Windows Configuration
17359 @section Windows Configuration
17360 @cindex windows configuration
17362 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
17364 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
17365 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
17366 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
17367 @code{t} by default.
17369 Setting this variable to @code{nil} kinda works, but there are
17370 glitches. Use at your own peril.
17372 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
17373 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
17374 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
17377 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
17378 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
17379 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17383 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
17384 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
17385 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
17386 possible names is listed below.
17388 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
17389 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
17392 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
17396 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
17397 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
17398 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
17399 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
17400 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
17401 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
17402 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
17403 size spec per split.
17405 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
17406 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
17407 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
17408 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
17409 present) gets focus.
17411 Here's a more complicated example:
17414 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
17415 (summary 0.25 point)
17416 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
17420 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
17421 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
17422 occupy, not a percentage.
17424 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
17425 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
17426 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
17427 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
17428 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
17431 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
17434 (article (horizontal 1.0
17439 (summary 0.25 point)
17444 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
17445 @code{horizontal} thingie?
17447 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
17448 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
17449 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
17450 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
17451 the screen is to be given to this strip.
17453 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
17454 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
17455 lines from the splits.
17457 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
17461 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
17462 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
17463 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
17464 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
17465 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
17466 size = number | frame-params
17467 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
17470 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
17471 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
17472 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
17473 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
17475 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
17476 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
17477 @cindex window height
17478 @cindex window width
17479 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
17480 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
17481 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
17482 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
17483 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
17484 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
17486 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
17487 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
17488 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
17489 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
17491 @findex gnus-configure-frame
17492 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
17493 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
17494 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
17495 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
17496 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
17497 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
17498 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
17499 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
17500 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
17501 configuration list.
17504 (gnus-configure-frame
17508 (article 0.3 point))
17516 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
17517 @code{frame} split:
17520 (gnus-configure-frame
17523 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
17525 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
17526 (user-position . t)
17527 (left . -1) (top . 1))
17532 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
17533 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
17534 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
17535 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
17536 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
17537 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
17538 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
17539 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
17541 The list of all possible keys for @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} can
17542 be found in its default value.
17544 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
17545 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
17546 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
17550 (message (horizontal 1.0
17551 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
17553 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
17558 One common desire for a multiple frame split is to have a separate frame
17559 for composing mail and news while leaving the original frame intact. To
17560 accomplish that, something like the following can be done:
17563 (message (frame 1.0
17564 (if (not (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer))
17565 (car (cdr (assoc 'group gnus-buffer-configuration)))
17566 (car (cdr (assoc 'summary gnus-buffer-configuration))))
17567 (vertical ((user-position . t) (top . 1) (left . 1)
17568 (name . "Message"))
17569 (message 1.0 point))))
17572 @findex gnus-add-configuration
17573 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
17574 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
17575 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
17576 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
17579 (gnus-add-configuration
17580 '(article (vertical 1.0
17582 (summary .25 point)
17586 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
17587 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
17588 Gnus has been loaded.
17590 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
17591 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
17592 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
17593 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
17594 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
17596 If you're using tree displays (@pxref{Tree Display}), and the tree
17597 window is displayed vertically next to another window, you may also want
17598 to fiddle with @code{gnus-tree-minimize-window} to avoid having the
17601 @subsection Example Window Configurations
17605 Narrow left hand side occupied by group buffer. Right hand side split
17606 between summary buffer (top one-sixth) and article buffer (bottom).
17621 (gnus-add-configuration
17624 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17626 (summary 0.16 point)
17629 (gnus-add-configuration
17632 (vertical 25 (group 1.0))
17633 (vertical 1.0 (summary 1.0 point)))))
17639 @node Faces and Fonts
17640 @section Faces and Fonts
17645 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
17646 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
17647 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
17652 @section Compilation
17653 @cindex compilation
17654 @cindex byte-compilation
17656 @findex gnus-compile
17658 Remember all those line format specification variables?
17659 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
17660 on. By default, T-gnus will use the byte-compiled codes of these
17661 variables and we can keep a slow-down to a minimum. However, if you set
17662 @code{gnus-compile-user-specs} to @code{nil} (@code{t} by default),
17663 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
17664 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
17665 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
17668 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
17669 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
17670 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
17671 you'll get top speed again. Note that T-gnus will not save these
17672 compiled specs in the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
17675 @item gnus-compile-user-specs
17676 @vindex gnus-compile-user-specs
17677 If it is non-nil, the user-defined format specs will be byte-compiled
17678 automatically. The default value of this variable is @code{t}. It has
17679 an effect on the values of @code{gnus-*-line-format-spec}.
17684 @section Mode Lines
17687 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
17688 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
17689 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
17690 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
17691 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
17692 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
17693 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
17696 @cindex display-time
17698 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
17699 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
17700 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
17701 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
17702 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
17703 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
17704 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
17705 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
17708 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
17710 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
17711 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
17713 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
17714 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
17715 (length display-time-string)))))
17718 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
17719 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
17720 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
17721 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
17722 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
17725 @node Highlighting and Menus
17726 @section Highlighting and Menus
17728 @cindex highlighting
17731 @vindex gnus-visual
17732 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
17733 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
17734 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
17737 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
17738 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
17741 @item group-highlight
17742 Do highlights in the group buffer.
17743 @item summary-highlight
17744 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
17745 @item article-highlight
17746 Do highlights in the article buffer.
17748 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
17750 Create menus in the group buffer.
17752 Create menus in the summary buffers.
17754 Create menus in the article buffer.
17756 Create menus in the browse buffer.
17758 Create menus in the server buffer.
17760 Create menus in the score buffers.
17762 Create menus in all buffers.
17765 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
17766 buffers, you could say something like:
17769 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
17772 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
17775 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
17778 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
17779 in all Gnus buffers.
17781 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
17784 @item gnus-mouse-face
17785 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
17786 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
17787 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
17791 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
17795 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
17796 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
17797 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
17799 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
17800 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
17801 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
17803 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
17804 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
17805 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
17807 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
17808 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
17809 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
17811 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
17812 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
17813 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
17815 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
17816 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
17817 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
17828 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
17829 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
17830 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
17831 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
17832 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
17836 @vindex gnus-carpal
17837 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
17838 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
17839 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
17844 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17845 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
17846 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
17848 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
17849 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
17850 Face used on buttons.
17852 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
17853 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
17854 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
17856 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17857 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
17858 Buttons in the group buffer.
17860 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17861 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
17862 Buttons in the summary buffer.
17864 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17865 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
17866 Buttons in the server buffer.
17868 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17869 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
17870 Buttons in the browse buffer.
17873 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
17874 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
17875 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
17883 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
17884 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
17885 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
17886 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
17887 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
17889 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
17890 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
17891 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
17893 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
17894 been idle for thirty minutes:
17897 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
17900 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
17904 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
17907 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
17908 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
17909 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17911 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
17912 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
17913 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
17914 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
17916 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
17917 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
17918 @var{idle} minutes.
17920 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
17921 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
17924 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
17925 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
17926 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
17928 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
17929 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
17930 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
17931 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
17933 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
17934 your @file{.gnus} file:
17936 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
17938 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
17941 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
17942 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
17943 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
17944 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
17945 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
17946 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
17947 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
17948 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
17949 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
17950 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
17951 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
17953 @findex gnus-demon-init
17954 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
17955 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
17956 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
17957 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
17958 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
17960 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
17961 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
17962 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
17971 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
17972 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
17974 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
17975 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
17976 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
17977 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
17980 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
17981 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
17982 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
17983 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
17985 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
17986 this will make spam disappear.
17988 There are some variables to customize, of course:
17991 @item gnus-use-nocem
17992 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
17993 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
17996 @item gnus-nocem-groups
17997 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
17998 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
17999 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
18000 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
18002 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
18003 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
18004 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
18005 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
18006 "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" "cosmo.roadkill" "SpamHippo"
18007 "hweede@@snafu.de")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
18009 Known despammers that you can put in this list are listed at
18010 @uref{http://www.xs4all.nl/~rosalind/nocemreg/nocemreg.html}.
18012 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
18013 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
18014 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
18015 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
18016 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
18017 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
18018 @code{(@var{issuer} @var{conditions} @dots{})} elements in the list.
18019 Each condition is either a string (which is a regexp that matches types
18020 you want to use) or a list on the form @code{(not @var{string})}, where
18021 @var{string} is a regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
18023 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
18024 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
18027 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
18030 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
18031 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
18034 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
18037 The specs are applied left-to-right.
18040 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
18041 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
18043 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
18044 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
18045 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
18046 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
18048 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
18049 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
18052 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
18054 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
18062 This might be dangerous, though.
18064 @item gnus-nocem-directory
18065 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
18066 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
18067 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
18069 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18070 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
18071 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
18072 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
18073 might then see old spam.
18075 @item gnus-nocem-check-from
18076 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-from
18077 Non-@code{nil} means check for valid issuers in message bodies.
18078 Otherwise don't bother fetching articles unless their author matches a
18079 valid issuer; that is much faster if you are selective about the
18082 @item gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18083 @vindex gnus-nocem-check-article-limit
18084 If non-@code{nil}, the maximum number of articles to check in any NoCeM
18085 group. NoCeM groups can be huge and very slow to process.
18089 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
18090 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
18091 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
18092 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
18099 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
18100 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
18101 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
18103 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
18104 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
18105 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
18106 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
18107 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
18108 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
18109 @code{undo} function.
18111 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
18112 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
18113 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
18114 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
18115 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
18116 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
18117 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
18118 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
18119 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
18120 never be totally undoable.
18122 @findex gnus-undo-mode
18123 @vindex gnus-use-undo
18125 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
18126 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
18127 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
18128 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
18133 @section Moderation
18136 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
18137 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
18138 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
18141 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
18145 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
18148 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
18150 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
18155 You split your incoming mail by matching on
18156 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
18157 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
18160 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
18161 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
18164 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
18165 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
18169 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
18172 (setq gnus-moderated-list
18173 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
18177 @node XEmacs Enhancements
18178 @section XEmacs Enhancements
18181 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
18185 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
18186 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
18187 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
18188 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
18201 So@dots{} You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
18202 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
18203 over your shoulder as you read news.
18206 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
18207 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
18208 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
18209 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
18210 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
18215 @subsubsection Picon Basics
18217 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
18226 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
18227 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
18228 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
18229 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
18230 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
18231 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
18232 @code{GIF} formats.
18235 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18236 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
18237 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
18238 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string @*
18239 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
18241 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18242 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
18243 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at @*
18244 @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
18245 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
18246 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18249 @node Picon Requirements
18250 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
18252 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
18253 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
18256 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
18257 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
18258 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
18260 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18261 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
18262 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
18263 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
18264 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
18268 @subsubsection Easy Picons
18270 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
18271 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
18274 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
18275 (setq gnus-treat-display-picons t)
18278 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
18279 containing the Picons databases.
18281 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
18284 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18285 "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
18290 @subsubsection Hard Picons
18298 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
18299 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
18300 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
18301 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
18302 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
18307 @item gnus-picons-database
18308 @vindex gnus-picons-database
18309 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
18310 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
18311 subdirectories. This is only useful if
18312 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
18313 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
18315 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18316 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
18317 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
18318 engine is @uref{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
18319 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
18320 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
18321 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
18323 @item gnus-picons-display-where
18324 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18325 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
18326 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
18327 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
18328 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
18329 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
18330 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
18332 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18333 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
18334 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
18339 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
18340 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
18342 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
18343 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
18346 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
18348 @item gnus-article-display-picons
18349 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18350 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
18351 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer.
18353 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
18354 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
18355 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present.
18361 @node Picon Useless Configuration
18362 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
18370 The following variables offer further control over how things are
18371 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
18372 don't need to worry about.
18376 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
18377 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
18378 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18379 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
18381 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
18382 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
18383 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
18384 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
18386 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
18387 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
18388 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
18389 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
18390 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
18392 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18393 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
18394 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
18395 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
18396 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
18397 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
18398 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
18400 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18401 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
18402 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
18403 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
18405 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18406 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
18407 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
18408 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
18409 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
18410 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
18411 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
18413 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18414 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
18415 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
18416 Defaults to @code{nil}.
18418 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
18419 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
18420 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
18421 Defaults to @code{t}.
18423 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18424 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
18425 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
18426 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
18428 @item gnus-picons-setup-hook
18429 @vindex gnus-picons-setup-hook
18430 Hook run in the picon buffer, if that is displayed.
18432 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18433 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
18434 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
18435 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
18437 If @code{nil}, display the picons in the @code{From} and
18438 @code{Newsgroups} lines. This is the default.
18440 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18441 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
18442 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
18443 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
18444 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
18445 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
18446 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
18447 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
18458 @subsection Smileys
18463 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
18468 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
18469 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
18471 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
18472 @file{.gnus.el} file:
18475 (setq gnus-treat-display-smileys t)
18478 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
18479 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
18480 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
18481 text and maps that to file names.
18483 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
18484 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
18485 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
18486 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
18487 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
18488 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
18490 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
18491 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
18493 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
18494 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
18495 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
18497 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
18498 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
18502 @item smiley-data-directory
18503 @vindex smiley-data-directory
18504 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
18506 @item smiley-flesh-color
18507 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
18508 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
18510 @item smiley-features-color
18511 @vindex smiley-features-color
18512 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18514 @item smiley-tongue-color
18515 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
18516 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
18518 @item smiley-circle-color
18519 @vindex smiley-circle-color
18520 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
18522 @item smiley-mouse-face
18523 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
18524 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
18530 @subsection Toolbar
18540 @item gnus-use-toolbar
18541 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
18542 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
18543 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
18544 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
18546 @item gnus-group-toolbar
18547 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
18548 The toolbar in the group buffer.
18550 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
18551 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
18552 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
18554 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18555 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
18556 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
18562 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
18565 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18566 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
18567 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
18568 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
18569 unusual directory structure.
18571 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18572 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
18573 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
18574 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
18576 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18577 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
18578 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
18579 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
18580 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
18581 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
18583 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18584 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
18585 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
18599 @node Fuzzy Matching
18600 @section Fuzzy Matching
18601 @cindex fuzzy matching
18603 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
18604 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
18606 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
18607 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
18608 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
18610 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
18611 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
18612 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
18613 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
18614 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
18617 @node Thwarting Email Spam
18618 @section Thwarting Email Spam
18622 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
18624 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
18625 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
18626 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
18627 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
18628 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
18629 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
18630 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
18631 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
18634 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
18635 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
18636 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
18637 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
18638 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
18639 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
18643 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
18644 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
18646 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
18647 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
18648 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
18649 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
18650 sysadmin whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
18651 part of the mail address.)
18654 (setq message-default-news-headers
18655 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
18658 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
18659 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
18664 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
18665 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
18666 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
18672 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
18673 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
18674 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
18675 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
18677 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
18678 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
18679 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
18680 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
18681 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
18682 your fancy split rule in this way:
18687 (to "larsi" "misc")
18691 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
18692 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
18693 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
18694 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
18695 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
18697 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
18698 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
18699 at @* @uref{http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html}.
18700 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
18701 cosmic balance somewhat.
18703 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
18704 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
18705 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
18706 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
18709 @node Various Various
18710 @section Various Various
18716 @item gnus-home-directory
18717 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
18718 defaults to @file{~/}.
18720 @item gnus-directory
18721 @vindex gnus-directory
18722 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
18723 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
18724 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
18726 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
18727 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
18728 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
18729 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
18731 @item gnus-default-directory
18732 @vindex gnus-default-directory
18733 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
18734 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
18735 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
18736 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
18737 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
18738 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
18741 @vindex gnus-verbose
18742 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
18743 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
18744 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
18745 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
18746 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
18748 @item gnus-verbose-backends
18749 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
18750 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
18751 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
18753 @item nnheader-max-head-length
18754 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
18755 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
18756 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
18757 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
18758 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
18759 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
18760 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
18761 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
18762 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
18764 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
18765 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
18766 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
18767 read when doing the operation described above.
18769 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18770 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18772 @cindex invalid characters in file names
18773 @cindex characters in file names
18774 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
18775 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
18776 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
18779 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
18783 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
18784 Windows (phooey) systems.
18786 @item gnus-hidden-properties
18787 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
18788 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
18789 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
18790 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
18792 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
18793 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
18794 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
18795 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
18796 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
18798 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
18799 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
18800 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
18802 @item gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18803 @vindex gnus-invalid-group-regexp
18805 Regexp to match ``invalid'' group names when querying user for a group
18806 name. The default value catches some @strong{really} invalid group
18807 names who could possibly mess up Gnus internally (like allowing
18808 @samp{:} in a group name, which is normally used to delimit method and
18811 IMAP users might want to allow @samp{/} in group names though.
18820 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
18821 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
18823 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
18825 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
18831 Not because of victories @*
18834 but for the common sunshine,@*
18836 the largess of the spring.
18840 but for the day's work done@*
18841 as well as I was able;@*
18842 not for a seat upon the dais@*
18843 but at the common table.@*
18848 @chapter Appendices
18851 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
18852 * On Writing Manuals:: Why this is not a beginner's guide.
18853 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
18854 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
18855 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
18856 * Gnus Reference Guide:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
18857 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
18858 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
18866 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
18867 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
18869 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage,
18870 you can point your (feh!) web browser to
18871 @uref{http://quimby.gnus.org/}. This is also the primary
18872 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is
18873 known as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
18875 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
18876 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
18877 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
18878 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
18879 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
18880 appropriate name, don't you think?)
18882 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
18883 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
18884 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
18885 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
18888 * Gnus Versions:: What Gnus versions have been released.
18889 * Other Gnus Versions:: Other Gnus versions that also have been released.
18890 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
18891 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
18892 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
18893 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
18894 * Gnus Development:: How Gnus is developed.
18895 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
18896 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
18897 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
18901 @node Gnus Versions
18902 @subsection Gnus Versions
18903 @cindex Pterodactyl Gnus
18905 @cindex September Gnus
18906 @cindex Quassia Gnus
18908 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
18909 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
18910 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
18912 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
18913 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
18915 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
18916 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
18918 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37 releases.
18919 If was released as ``Gnus 5.6'' on March 8th 1998 (46 releases).
18921 Gnus 5.6 begat Pterodactyl Gnus on August 29th 1998 and was released as
18922 ``Gnus 5.8'' (after 99 releases and a CVS repository) on December 3rd
18925 On the 26th of October 2000, Oort Gnus was begun.
18927 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
18928 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'',
18929 ``Pterodactyl Gnus'', ``Oort Gnus'' -- don't panic. Don't let it know
18930 that you're frightened. Back away. Slowly. Whatever you do, don't
18931 run. Walk away, calmly, until you're out of its reach. Find a proper
18932 released version of Gnus and snuggle up to that instead.
18935 @node Other Gnus Versions
18936 @subsection Other Gnus Versions
18939 In addition to the versions of Gnus which have had their releases
18940 coordinated by Lars, one major development has been Semi-gnus from
18941 Japan. It's based on a library called @sc{semi}, which provides
18942 @sc{mime} capabilities.
18944 These Gnusae are based mainly on Gnus 5.6 and Pterodactyl Gnus.
18945 Collectively, they are called ``Semi-gnus'', and different strains are
18946 called T-gnus, ET-gnus, Nana-gnus and Chaos. These provide powerful
18947 @sc{mime} and multilingualization things, especially important for
18954 What's the point of Gnus?
18956 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
18957 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
18958 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
18959 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
18960 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
18961 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
18962 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
18963 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
18964 keep track of millions of people who post?
18966 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
18967 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
18968 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
18969 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
18970 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
18971 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
18972 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
18973 every one of you to explore and invent.
18975 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
18976 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
18979 @node Compatibility
18980 @subsection Compatibility
18982 @cindex compatibility
18983 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
18984 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
18985 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
18990 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
18994 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
18997 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
19000 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
19001 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
19002 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
19003 important variables have their values copied into their global
19004 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
19005 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
19007 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
19008 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
19009 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
19010 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
19011 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
19015 @cindex highlighting
19016 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
19017 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
19018 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
19019 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
19020 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
19021 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
19024 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
19025 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
19026 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
19027 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
19029 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
19030 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
19031 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
19032 to stop doing it the old way.
19034 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
19036 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
19038 @cindex reporting bugs
19040 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
19041 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
19042 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
19044 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
19045 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
19046 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
19047 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
19052 @subsection Conformity
19054 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
19055 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
19062 There are no known breaches of this standard.
19066 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
19068 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
19069 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
19070 We do have some breaches to this one.
19076 These are considered to be ``vanity headers'', while I consider them
19077 to be consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted
19078 articles coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use
19079 either of those for posting articles. I would not have known that if
19080 it wasn't for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
19085 USEFOR is an IETF working group writing a successor to RFC 1036, based
19086 on Son-of-RFC 1036. They have produced a number of drafts proposing
19087 various changes to the format of news articles. The Gnus towers will
19088 look into implementing the changes when the draft is accepted as an RFC.
19092 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
19093 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
19098 @subsection Emacsen
19104 Gnus should work on :
19112 XEmacs 21.1.1 and up.
19116 This Gnus version will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than
19117 that. Not reliably, at least. Older versions of Gnus may work on older
19118 Emacs versions. However, T-gnus does support ``Mule 2.3 based on Emacs
19119 19.34'' and possibly the versions of XEmacs prior to 21.1.1, e.g. 20.4.
19120 See the file ``README'' in the T-gnus distribution for more details.
19122 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
19123 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
19124 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
19128 @node Gnus Development
19129 @subsection Gnus Development
19131 Gnus is developed in a two-phased cycle. The first phase involves much
19132 discussion on the @samp{ding@@gnus.org} mailing list, where people
19133 propose changes and new features, post patches and new backends. This
19134 phase is called the @dfn{alpha} phase, since the Gnusae released in this
19135 phase are @dfn{alpha releases}, or (perhaps more commonly in other
19136 circles) @dfn{snapshots}. During this phase, Gnus is assumed to be
19137 unstable and should not be used by casual users. Gnus alpha releases
19138 have names like ``Red Gnus'' and ``Quassia Gnus''.
19140 After futzing around for 50-100 alpha releases, Gnus is declared
19141 @dfn{frozen}, and only bug fixes are applied. Gnus loses the prefix,
19142 and is called things like ``Gnus 5.6.32'' instead. Normal people are
19143 supposed to be able to use these, and these are mostly discussed on the
19144 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} newsgroup.
19147 @vindex mail-source-delete-incoming
19148 Some variable defaults differ between alpha Gnusae and released Gnusae.
19149 In particular, @code{mail-source-delete-incoming} defaults to @code{nil} in
19150 alpha Gnusae and @code{t} in released Gnusae. This is to prevent
19151 lossage of mail if an alpha release hiccups while handling the mail.
19153 The division of discussion between the ding mailing list and the Gnus
19154 newsgroup is not purely based on publicity concerns. It's true that
19155 having people write about the horrible things that an alpha Gnus release
19156 can do (sometimes) in a public forum may scare people off, but more
19157 importantly, talking about new experimental features that have been
19158 introduced may confuse casual users. New features are frequently
19159 introduced, fiddled with, and judged to be found wanting, and then
19160 either discarded or totally rewritten. People reading the mailing list
19161 usually keep up with these rapid changes, while people on the newsgroup
19162 can't be assumed to do so.
19167 @subsection Contributors
19168 @cindex contributors
19170 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
19171 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
19172 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
19173 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
19174 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
19175 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
19176 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
19177 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
19178 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
19179 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
19181 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
19187 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
19190 Shenghuo Zhu---uudecode.el, mm-uu.el, rfc1843.el, webmail.el,
19191 nnwarchive and many, many other things connected with @sc{mime} and
19192 other types of en/decoding, as well as general bug fixing, new
19193 functionality and stuff.
19196 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
19197 well as numerous other things).
19200 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
19203 Justin Sheehy--the FAQ maintainer.
19206 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
19209 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
19210 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
19213 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
19216 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
19217 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19220 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
19223 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
19226 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
19229 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
19232 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
19233 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
19236 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
19239 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
19242 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
19245 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
19249 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
19252 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
19255 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
19258 François Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
19259 well as autoconf support.
19263 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
19264 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
19266 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
19275 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
19279 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
19289 Alexei V. Barantsev,
19304 Massimo Campostrini,
19309 Jae-you Chung, @c ?
19310 James H. Cloos, Jr.,
19314 Andrew J. Cosgriff,
19317 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
19323 Michael Welsh Duggan,
19328 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
19332 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
19340 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
19342 Michelangelo Grigni,
19346 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
19348 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
19350 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
19357 François Felix Ingrand,
19358 Tatsuya Ichikawa, @c ?
19359 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
19361 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
19372 Peter Skov Knudsen,
19373 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
19375 Koseki Yoshinori, @c Koseki
19376 Thor Kristoffersen,
19379 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
19397 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
19398 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
19405 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
19410 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
19414 John McClary Prevost,
19420 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
19425 Christian von Roques,
19428 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
19435 Philippe Schnoebelen,
19437 Randal L. Schwartz,
19451 Kiyokazu Suto, @c Suto
19456 Tozawa Akihiko, @c Tozawa
19472 Katsumi Yamaoka @c Yamaoka
19477 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
19478 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
19479 (550kB and counting).
19481 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
19484 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
19485 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
19489 @subsection New Features
19490 @cindex new features
19493 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
19494 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
19495 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
19496 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6/5.7.
19499 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
19500 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
19501 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
19505 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
19507 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
19512 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
19513 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
19516 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
19517 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
19520 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
19523 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
19524 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
19525 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
19528 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
19529 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
19530 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
19531 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19534 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
19535 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19538 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
19539 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
19540 (@pxref{The Active File}).
19543 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
19544 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
19547 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
19548 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
19549 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19552 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
19553 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
19554 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
19557 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
19558 the @file{.emacs} file.
19561 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
19562 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
19565 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
19566 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
19569 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
19570 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19573 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
19574 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
19577 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
19578 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19581 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
19584 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
19585 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
19588 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
19589 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
19592 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
19593 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
19596 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
19599 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
19600 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19603 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
19607 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
19611 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
19612 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
19615 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
19621 @node September Gnus
19622 @subsubsection September Gnus
19626 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
19630 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
19635 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
19636 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
19640 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
19641 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
19645 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
19649 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
19650 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
19653 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
19657 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
19660 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
19663 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
19666 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
19670 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
19671 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
19674 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
19678 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
19682 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
19686 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
19690 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
19693 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
19694 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
19697 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
19701 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
19702 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
19705 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
19708 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
19709 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
19710 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
19713 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
19717 The Gnus cache is much faster.
19720 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
19724 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
19725 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
19728 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
19729 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
19732 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
19733 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
19736 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
19737 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
19738 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
19741 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
19742 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
19745 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
19748 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19751 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
19754 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
19757 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
19758 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
19761 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
19765 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
19768 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
19773 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
19776 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
19780 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
19783 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
19787 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
19790 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
19793 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
19794 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
19797 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
19798 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
19802 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
19803 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
19806 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
19810 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
19811 buffer to allow easier treatment.
19814 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
19817 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
19821 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
19825 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
19826 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
19829 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
19833 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
19834 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
19837 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
19838 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19841 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
19845 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
19848 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
19851 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
19857 @subsubsection Red Gnus
19859 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
19863 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
19870 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
19873 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
19874 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
19877 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
19878 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
19882 Article washing status can be displayed in the
19883 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
19886 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
19889 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
19890 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
19893 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
19897 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
19898 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
19902 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
19903 Server Internals}).
19906 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
19910 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
19913 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
19914 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
19917 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
19918 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
19919 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
19922 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
19923 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19926 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
19927 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
19930 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
19934 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
19935 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19938 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
19939 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
19942 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
19946 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
19949 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
19953 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
19954 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19957 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
19958 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
19961 A new command for reading collections of documents
19962 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
19963 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
19966 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
19970 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the @sc{nntp}
19971 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
19974 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
19975 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
19976 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
19979 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
19980 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
19984 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
19988 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
19992 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
19997 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
20001 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
20005 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
20006 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
20009 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
20015 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
20017 New features in Gnus 5.6:
20022 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
20023 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
20024 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
20027 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
20028 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
20029 group, which is created automatically.
20032 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
20036 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
20039 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
20040 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
20043 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
20047 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
20050 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
20051 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
20054 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
20057 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
20058 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
20061 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
20062 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
20065 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
20066 control over simplification.
20069 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
20072 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
20076 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
20079 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
20082 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
20083 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
20084 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
20087 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
20088 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
20091 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
20095 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
20096 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
20099 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
20100 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
20103 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
20107 A history of where mails have been split is available.
20110 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
20113 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
20114 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
20117 A new function for citing in Message has been
20118 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
20121 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
20124 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
20128 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
20129 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
20132 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
20133 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
20136 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
20139 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
20144 @node Newest Features
20145 @subsection Newest Features
20148 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
20151 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
20153 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
20154 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
20157 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
20162 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
20163 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
20166 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
20169 @uref{http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/}
20172 facep is not declared.
20175 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
20176 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
20179 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
20184 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
20185 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
20186 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
20187 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
20188 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
20189 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
20190 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
20195 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
20198 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
20201 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
20203 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
20204 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
20206 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
20208 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
20210 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
20211 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
20213 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
20215 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
20216 be marked as unread.
20218 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
20220 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
20222 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
20223 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
20225 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
20227 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
20229 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
20230 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
20232 topics that contain just groups with ticked
20233 articles aren't displayed.
20235 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
20237 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
20238 make the mail groups killed.
20240 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
20242 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
20243 and articles have to be removed.
20245 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
20248 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
20250 finding short score file names takes forever.
20252 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20254 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
20256 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
20258 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
20260 nnweb doesn't work properly.
20262 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
20264 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
20265 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
20269 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
20271 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
20272 bar and the Gnus bar.
20275 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
20276 `(canonize-message-id id)'
20277 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
20278 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
20279 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
20280 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
20285 nnml .overview directory with splits.
20289 postponed commands.
20291 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
20293 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
20296 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
20297 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
20299 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
20300 inherit copy prompts and save files.
20302 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
20304 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
20305 for backends that support that.
20307 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
20309 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
20310 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
20312 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
20313 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
20315 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
20317 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
20319 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
20321 server mode command: close/open all connections
20323 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
20324 has been changed before using it.
20326 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
20328 hide (sub)threads with low score.
20330 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
20332 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
20334 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
20335 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
20337 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
20338 contain groups that match a regexp.
20340 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
20343 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
20346 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
20347 from subject lines.
20349 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
20351 nntp-ping-before-connect
20353 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
20355 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
20356 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
20358 message annotations.
20360 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
20362 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
20363 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
20365 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
20370 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
20372 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
20374 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
20376 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
20377 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
20379 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
20381 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
20383 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
20384 finds and generate proper active ranges.
20386 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
20387 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
20389 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
20391 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
20393 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
20394 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
20396 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
20398 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
20400 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
20401 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
20404 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
20406 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
20408 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
20409 `C-c C-c' when posting.
20411 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
20414 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
20415 should be marker as expirable.
20417 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
20419 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
20420 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
20422 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
20423 Also consult Date headers.
20425 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
20427 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
20429 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
20430 Message-ID, delete the "original".
20432 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
20433 into a See-Also header.
20435 support setext: @uref{http://www.bsdi.com/setext/}
20437 support ProleText: @uref{http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html}
20439 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
20440 should be listed as such and not as "K".
20442 generate font names dynamically.
20444 score file mode auto-alist.
20446 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
20447 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
20449 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
20450 absolutely all headers there is.
20452 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
20453 and pipe them to the process.
20455 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
20456 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
20457 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
20459 function for starting to edit a file to put into
20460 the current mail group.
20462 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
20464 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
20465 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
20467 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
20468 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
20470 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
20472 when replying to several process-marked articles,
20473 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
20475 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
20476 groups it has been mailed to.
20478 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
20480 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
20482 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
20484 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
20485 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
20487 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
20488 newlines) should be ignored.
20490 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
20491 groups in subtopics as well.
20493 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
20495 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
20498 add edit and forward secondary marks.
20500 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
20502 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
20504 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
20506 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
20508 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
20510 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
20511 or the formatted article.
20513 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
20515 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
20516 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
20518 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
20520 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
20522 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
20524 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
20525 even unread articles.
20527 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
20529 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
20531 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
20533 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
20535 canceling articles in foreign groups.
20537 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
20540 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
20541 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
20543 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
20544 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
20546 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
20548 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
20550 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
20551 from a particular server? Hm.
20553 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
20554 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
20556 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
20558 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
20559 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
20561 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
20562 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
20564 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
20565 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
20566 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
20569 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
20570 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
20572 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
20574 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
20576 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
20578 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
20581 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
20584 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
20585 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
20587 command to show and edit group scores
20589 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
20592 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
20594 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
20596 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
20597 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
20600 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
20601 that are of that length.
20603 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
20605 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
20607 asynchronous posting under nntp.
20609 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
20611 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
20613 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
20615 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
20616 a score lower than this number.
20618 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
20620 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
20622 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
20623 so that each copy can be edited separately.
20625 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
20627 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
20628 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
20630 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
20633 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
20634 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
20635 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
20636 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
20638 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
20641 command to remove all topic stuff.
20643 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
20644 and splitting the resulting digests.
20646 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
20648 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
20650 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
20651 matches an alist -- before saving.
20653 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
20655 variable to activate each group before entering them
20656 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
20658 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
20659 starting Gnus first if necessary.
20661 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
20662 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
20664 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
20666 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
20667 of several groups at once.
20669 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
20670 matches some regexp(s).
20672 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
20674 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
20676 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
20678 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
20680 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
20682 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
20684 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
20686 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
20687 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
20688 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
20689 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
20691 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
20692 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
20694 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
20696 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
20697 recently cited text.
20699 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
20701 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
20704 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
20705 server and just read the articles in the server
20707 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
20708 value of nnoo variables.
20710 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
20712 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
20713 listed in each group info.
20715 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
20718 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
20719 should only be applied to some groups.
20721 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
20722 mail-copies-to: never.
20724 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
20725 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
20727 the slave dribble files should auto-save to the slave file names.
20729 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
20732 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
20735 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
20737 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
20740 group user-defined meta-parameters.
20744 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
20746 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
20747 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
20748 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
20749 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
20750 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
20752 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at @*
20753 @uref{ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html}
20760 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
20761 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
20763 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
20764 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
20766 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
20767 "Return the date the group was last read."
20768 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
20773 tanken var at når du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til å lete
20774 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den være en
20775 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
20776 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
20780 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
20781 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
20783 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
20786 They could be used like this:
20790 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
20791 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
20792 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
20794 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
20796 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
20799 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
20802 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
20803 affect the summary line format.
20807 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
20809 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
20810 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
20812 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
20815 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
20817 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
20819 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
20821 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
20823 - For other files, just find them normally.
20825 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
20826 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
20829 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
20830 tell him what you are doing.
20833 Currently, I get prompted:
20837 decend into sci.something ?
20841 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
20842 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
20843 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
20844 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
20847 Ja, det burde være en måte å si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
20848 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? SÃ¥ kunne score-regler legges til den
20849 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
20850 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
20853 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
20854 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
20860 more than n blank lines
20862 more than m identical lines
20863 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
20865 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
20869 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
20870 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
20871 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
20872 "same" subject for threading purposes.
20875 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
20876 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
20877 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
20878 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
20881 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
20884 soup - bowl of soup
20885 score below - dim light bulb
20886 score over - bright light bulb
20889 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
20894 show-list-of-articles-in-group
20895 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20896 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
20897 if (articles-selected)
20898 start-reading-selected-articles;
20899 junk-unread-articles;
20904 else if (key-pressed = '.')
20905 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
20906 select-thread-under-cursor;
20908 select-article-under-cursor;
20912 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
20913 if (more-pages-in-article)
20915 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
20922 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
20923 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
20924 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
20927 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
20928 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
20929 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
20930 the wildcard expression).
20933 It would be nice if it also handled
20935 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
20937 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
20942 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
20943 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
20944 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
20945 article versions) variable.
20947 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
20949 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
20950 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
20954 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
20957 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
20958 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
20959 (message-sent-hook).
20961 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
20964 * Enhancements to Gnus:
20968 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
20969 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
20972 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
20973 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
20974 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
20977 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
20978 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
20982 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
20985 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
20989 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
20990 the nnmail duplicate checking.
20993 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
20994 value of the signature file.
20997 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
20998 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
21001 (setq message-tab-alist
21002 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
21003 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
21005 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
21009 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
21012 a command to import a buffer into a group.
21015 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
21018 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
21019 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
21022 a command to process mark all unread articles.
21025 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
21026 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
21027 do more gathering by subject.
21030 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
21031 article numerical order.
21034 (gnus-thread-total-score
21035 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
21039 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
21042 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
21043 in the summary buffer.
21046 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
21047 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
21050 @uref{http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html}?
21051 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
21052 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
21053 and/or newsgroup name.
21056 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
21059 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
21062 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
21065 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
21066 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
21067 will automatically get the process mark.
21070 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
21071 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
21072 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
21075 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
21079 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
21080 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
21083 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
21084 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
21088 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
21089 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
21092 be able to post via DejaNews.
21095 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
21098 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
21099 allow them to be displayed separately.
21102 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
21103 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
21106 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
21107 articles that match a certain From header.
21110 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
21111 saving living summary buffers.
21114 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
21115 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
21118 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
21119 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
21122 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
21123 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
21126 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
21127 (goto-char (point-min))
21128 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
21129 (replace-match "`" t t))
21130 (goto-char (point-min))
21131 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
21132 (replace-match "'" t t))
21133 (goto-char (point-min))
21134 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
21135 (replace-match "\"" t t))
21136 (goto-char (point-min))
21137 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
21138 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
21143 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
21145 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
21146 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
21147 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
21148 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
21152 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
21155 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
21156 numbers and match on the age of the article.
21160 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
21161 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
21162 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
21164 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
21165 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
21167 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
21168 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
21173 all commands that react to the process mark should push
21174 the current process mark set onto the stack.
21177 gnus-article-hide-pgp
21178 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt å slette den dersom teksten matcher
21180 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
21182 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
21183 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
21186 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
21187 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
21190 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
21194 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
21195 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
21198 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
21201 nndraft-request-group should tally auto-save files.
21204 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
21207 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
21211 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
21217 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
21220 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
21224 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
21225 X characters in the body.
21228 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
21231 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
21234 format spec to "tab" to a position.
21237 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
21240 command to display all dormant articles.
21243 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
21246 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
21247 to something someone else has said.
21250 Read Netscape discussion groups:
21251 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
21254 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
21255 the displayed version.
21258 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
21262 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
21265 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
21266 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
21267 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
21271 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
21272 in the head or body.
21275 Allow breaking lengthy @sc{nntp} commands.
21278 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
21281 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
21282 in a special, unique buffer.
21285 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
21288 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
21289 is less than a certain number of days old.
21292 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
21295 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
21298 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
21299 file, for instance.
21302 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
21303 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
21304 dummy root instead of the first article.
21307 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
21308 topics for displaying.
21311 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
21312 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
21315 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
21318 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
21319 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
21320 summary buffer for each article.
21323 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
21326 Group parameters and summary commands for un/subscribing to mailing
21330 Introduce nnmail-home-directory.
21333 gnus-fetch-group and friends should exit Gnus when the user
21337 The jingle is only played on the second invocation of Gnus.
21340 Bouncing articles should do MIME.
21343 Crossposted articles should "inherit" the % or @ mark from the other
21344 groups it has been crossposted to, or something. (Agent.)
21347 If point is on a group that appears multiple times in topics, and
21348 you press `l', point will move to the first instance of the group.
21351 A spec for the group line format to display the number of
21352 agent-downloaded articles in the group.
21355 Some nntp servers never respond when posting, so there should be a
21356 timeout for all commands.
21359 When stading on a topic line and `t'-ing, point goes to the last line.
21360 It should go somewhere else.
21363 I'm having trouble accessing a newsgroup with a "+" in its name with
21364 Gnus. There is a new newsgroup on msnews.microsoft.com named
21365 "microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time" that I'm trying to
21367 "nntp+msnews.microsoft.com:microsoft.public.multimedia.directx.html+time"
21368 but it gives an error that it cant access the group.
21370 Is the "+" character illegal in newsgroup names? Is there any way in
21371 Gnus to work around this? (gnus 5.6.45 - XEmacs 20.4)
21378 Subject: Answer to your mails 01.01.1999-01.05.1999
21379 --text follows this line--
21380 Sorry I killfiled you...
21382 Under the subject "foo", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21384 Under the subject "foo1", you wrote on 01.01.1999:
21389 Allow "orphan" scores in the Agent scoring.
21393 - Edit article's summary line.
21395 - Sort lines in buffer by subject
21397 --> the old subject line appears in Summary buffer, not the one that was
21403 Remove list identifiers from the subject in the summary when doing `^'
21407 Have the Agent write out articles, one by one, as it retrieves them,
21408 to avoid having to re-fetch them all if Emacs should crash while
21412 Be able to forward groups of messages as MIME digests.
21415 nnweb should include the "get whole article" article when getting articles.
21418 When I type W W c (gnus-article-hide-citation) in the summary
21419 buffer, the citations are revealed, but the [+] buttons don't turn
21420 into [-] buttons. (If I click on one of the [+] buttons, it does
21421 turn into a [-] button.)
21424 Perhaps there should be a command to "attach" a buffer of comments to
21425 a message? That is, `B WHATEVER', you're popped into a buffer, write
21426 something, end with `C-c C-c', and then the thing you've written gets
21427 to be the child of the message you're commenting.
21430 Handle external-body parts.
21433 When renaming a group name, nnmail-split-history does not get the group
21437 Allow mail splitting on bodies when using advanced mail splitting.
21440 (body "whatever.text")
21444 Be able to run `J u' from summary buffers.
21447 Solve the halting problem.
21456 @section The Manual
21460 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
21461 either @code{texi2dvi}
21463 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
21464 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
21466 to get what you hold in your hands now.
21468 The following conventions have been used:
21473 This is a @samp{string}
21476 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
21479 This is a @file{file}
21482 This is a @code{symbol}
21486 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
21490 (setq flargnoze "yes")
21493 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
21496 (setq flumphel 'yes)
21499 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
21500 ever get them confused.
21504 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
21505 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
21506 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
21507 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
21508 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
21509 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
21510 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
21516 @node On Writing Manuals
21517 @section On Writing Manuals
21519 I guess most manuals are written after-the-fact; documenting a program
21520 that's already there. This is not how this manual is written. When
21521 implementing something, I write the manual entry for that something
21522 straight away. I then see that it's difficult to explain the
21523 functionality, so I write how it's supposed to be, and then I change the
21524 implementation. Writing the documentation and writing the code goes
21527 This, of course, means that this manual has no, or little, flow. It
21528 documents absolutely everything in Gnus, but often not where you're
21529 looking for it. It is a reference manual, and not a guide to how to get
21532 That would be a totally different book, that should be written using the
21533 reference manual as source material. It would look quite differently.
21538 @section Terminology
21540 @cindex terminology
21545 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
21546 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
21547 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
21548 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
21549 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
21553 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
21554 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
21555 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
21556 not posting, and replying is not following up.
21560 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
21564 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
21569 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
21570 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
21571 is all done by the backends.
21575 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
21576 default, way of getting news.
21580 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
21581 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
21586 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
21587 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
21591 A message that has been posted as news.
21594 @cindex mail message
21595 A message that has been mailed.
21599 A mail message or news article
21603 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
21608 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
21613 A line from the head of an article.
21617 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
21618 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
21622 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
21623 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
21624 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
21625 normal @sc{head} format.
21629 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
21630 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
21631 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
21632 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
21633 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
21634 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
21636 @item killed groups
21637 @cindex killed groups
21638 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
21639 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
21641 @item zombie groups
21642 @cindex zombie groups
21643 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
21646 @cindex active file
21647 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
21648 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
21649 is rather large, as you might surmise.
21652 @cindex bogus groups
21653 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
21654 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
21655 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
21658 @cindex activating groups
21659 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
21660 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
21661 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
21665 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
21667 @item select method
21668 @cindex select method
21669 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
21672 @item virtual server
21673 @cindex virtual server
21674 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
21675 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
21676 whole is a virtual server.
21680 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
21681 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
21684 @item ephemeral groups
21685 @cindex ephemeral groups
21686 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
21687 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
21688 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
21691 @cindex solid groups
21692 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
21693 group buffer are solid groups.
21695 @item sparse articles
21696 @cindex sparse articles
21697 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
21698 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
21702 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
21703 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
21707 @cindex thread root
21708 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
21709 articles in the thread.
21713 An article that has responses.
21717 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
21721 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
21722 specified by RFC 1153.
21728 @node Customization
21729 @section Customization
21730 @cindex general customization
21732 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
21733 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
21734 for some quite common situations.
21737 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
21738 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
21739 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
21740 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
21744 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
21745 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
21747 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
21748 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
21749 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
21753 @item gnus-read-active-file
21754 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
21755 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
21756 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21757 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
21758 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
21760 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
21761 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
21762 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
21763 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
21767 @node Slow Terminal Connection
21768 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
21770 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
21771 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
21772 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
21776 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
21777 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
21778 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
21779 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
21780 horizontal and vertical recentering.
21782 @item gnus-visible-headers
21783 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
21784 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
21785 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
21786 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
21788 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
21790 (setq gnus-treat-hide-headers 'head
21791 gnus-treat-hide-signature t
21792 gnus-treat-hide-citation t)
21795 @item gnus-use-full-window
21796 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
21797 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
21798 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
21799 want to read them anyway.
21801 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
21802 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
21805 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
21806 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
21807 lines, which might save some time.
21811 @node Little Disk Space
21812 @subsection Little Disk Space
21815 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
21816 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
21820 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
21821 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
21822 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21823 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21826 @item gnus-read-newsrc-file
21827 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never read @file{.newsrc}---it will
21828 only read @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
21829 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
21832 @item gnus-save-killed-list
21833 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
21834 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
21835 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
21836 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
21842 @subsection Slow Machine
21843 @cindex slow machine
21845 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
21846 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
21848 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
21849 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
21851 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
21852 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
21853 summary buffer faster.
21857 @node Troubleshooting
21858 @section Troubleshooting
21859 @cindex troubleshooting
21861 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
21869 Make sure your computer is switched on.
21872 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
21873 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
21877 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
21878 like @samp{T-gnus 6.15.* (based on Oort Gnus v0.*; for SEMI 1.1*, FLIM
21879 1.1*)} you have the right files loaded. If, on the other hand, you get
21880 something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp flee}, you have some old
21881 @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
21884 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
21888 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
21889 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
21890 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
21891 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
21892 something like that.
21895 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
21898 @cindex reporting bugs
21900 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
21902 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
21903 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
21904 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
21905 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
21907 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
21908 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
21909 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
21910 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
21913 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
21914 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
21915 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
21916 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
21917 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
21918 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
21920 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
21921 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
21922 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
21925 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
21926 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
21928 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
21929 @cindex ding mailing list
21930 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
21931 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
21935 @node Gnus Reference Guide
21936 @section Gnus Reference Guide
21938 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
21939 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
21940 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
21941 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
21944 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
21945 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
21946 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
21947 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
21948 and general methods of operation.
21951 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
21952 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
21953 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
21954 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
21955 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
21956 * Group Info:: The group info format.
21957 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
21958 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
21959 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
21963 @node Gnus Utility Functions
21964 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
21965 @cindex Gnus utility functions
21966 @cindex utility functions
21968 @cindex internal variables
21970 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
21971 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
21972 Below is a list of the most common ones.
21976 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
21977 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
21978 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
21980 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
21981 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
21982 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
21984 @item gnus-group-real-name
21985 @findex gnus-group-real-name
21986 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
21989 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
21990 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
21991 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
21992 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
21994 @item gnus-get-info
21995 @findex gnus-get-info
21996 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
21998 @item gnus-group-unread
21999 @findex gnus-group-unread
22000 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
22004 @findex gnus-active
22005 The active entry for @var{group}.
22007 @item gnus-set-active
22008 @findex gnus-set-active
22009 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
22011 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22012 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
22013 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
22016 @item gnus-continuum-version
22017 @findex gnus-continuum-version
22018 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
22019 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
22022 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
22023 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
22024 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
22026 @item gnus-news-group-p
22027 @findex gnus-news-group-p
22028 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
22030 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22031 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
22032 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
22034 @item gnus-server-to-method
22035 @findex gnus-server-to-method
22036 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
22038 @item gnus-server-equal
22039 @findex gnus-server-equal
22040 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
22042 @item gnus-group-native-p
22043 @findex gnus-group-native-p
22044 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
22046 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
22047 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
22048 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
22050 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
22051 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
22052 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
22054 @item group-group-find-parameter
22055 @findex group-group-find-parameter
22056 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
22057 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
22059 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
22060 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
22061 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
22063 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
22064 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
22065 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
22067 @item gnus-check-backend-function
22068 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
22069 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
22070 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
22073 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
22077 @item gnus-read-method
22078 @findex gnus-read-method
22079 Prompts the user for a select method.
22084 @node Backend Interface
22085 @subsection Backend Interface
22087 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
22088 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
22089 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
22090 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
22091 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
22092 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
22094 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
22095 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
22096 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
22097 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
22098 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
22099 been opened, the function should fail.
22101 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
22102 name. Take this example:
22106 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
22107 (nntp-port-number 4324))
22110 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
22111 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
22113 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
22114 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
22115 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
22117 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
22118 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
22119 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
22121 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
22122 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
22123 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
22124 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
22125 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
22126 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
22129 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
22130 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
22131 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
22132 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
22135 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
22138 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
22141 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
22142 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
22143 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
22144 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
22145 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
22146 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
22150 @node Required Backend Functions
22151 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
22155 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
22157 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
22158 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
22159 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
22160 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
22162 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
22163 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
22164 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
22165 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
22167 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
22168 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
22169 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
22170 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
22171 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
22172 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
22173 number, do maximum fetches.
22175 Here's an example HEAD:
22178 221 1056 Article retrieved.
22179 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
22180 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
22181 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
22182 Subject: Re: Something very droll
22183 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
22184 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
22186 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
22187 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
22188 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
22192 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
22193 these in the data buffer.
22195 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
22199 head = error / valid-head
22200 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
22201 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
22202 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
22203 header = <text> eol
22206 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
22207 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
22211 nov-buffer = *nov-line
22212 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
22213 field = <text except TAB>
22216 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
22220 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
22222 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
22223 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
22225 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
22226 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
22227 server. In fact, it should do so.
22229 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
22230 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
22233 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
22235 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
22236 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
22239 There should be no data returned.
22242 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
22244 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
22245 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
22246 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
22247 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
22249 There should be no data returned.
22252 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
22254 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
22255 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
22256 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
22257 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
22259 There should be no data returned.
22262 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
22264 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
22266 There should be no data returned.
22269 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
22271 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
22272 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
22273 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
22274 it would be nice if that were possible.
22276 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
22277 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
22278 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
22279 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
22280 into its article buffer.
22282 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
22283 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
22284 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
22285 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
22286 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
22287 on successful article retrieval.
22290 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
22292 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
22293 making @var{group} the current group.
22295 If @var{fast}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
22298 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
22301 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
22304 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
22305 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
22306 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
22307 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
22308 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
22309 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
22310 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
22311 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
22314 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
22315 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
22316 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
22320 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22322 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
22323 a no-op on most backends.
22325 There should be no data returned.
22328 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
22330 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
22333 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
22336 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
22337 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
22340 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
22341 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
22344 active-file = *active-line
22345 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
22347 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
22350 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
22351 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
22352 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
22355 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
22357 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
22358 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
22359 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
22360 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
22361 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
22362 clear if the posting could not be completed.
22364 There should be no result data from this function.
22369 @node Optional Backend Functions
22370 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
22374 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
22376 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
22377 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
22378 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
22380 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
22381 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
22382 former is in the same format as the data from
22383 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
22384 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
22387 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
22391 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
22393 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
22394 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
22395 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
22396 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
22397 should return the (altered) group info.
22399 There should be no result data from this function.
22402 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
22404 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
22405 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
22406 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
22407 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
22408 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
22409 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
22410 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
22411 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
22413 There should be no result data from this function.
22416 @item (nnchoke-request-set-mark GROUP ACTION &optional SERVER)
22418 Set/remove/add marks on articles. Normally Gnus handles the article
22419 marks (such as read, ticked, expired etc) internally, and store them in
22420 @code{~/.newsrc.eld}. Some backends (such as @sc{imap}) however carry
22421 all information about the articles on the server, so Gnus need to
22422 propagate the mark information to the server.
22424 ACTION is a list of mark setting requests, having this format:
22427 (RANGE ACTION MARK)
22430 Range is a range of articles you wish to update marks on. Action is
22431 @code{set}, @code{add} or @code{del}, respectively used for removing all
22432 existing marks and setting them as specified, adding (preserving the
22433 marks not mentioned) mark and removing (preserving the marks not
22434 mentioned) marks. Mark is a list of marks; where each mark is a symbol.
22435 Currently used marks are @code{read}, @code{tick}, @code{reply},
22436 @code{expire}, @code{killed}, @code{dormant}, @code{save},
22437 @code{download} and @code{unsend}, but your backend should, if possible,
22438 not limit itself to these.
22440 Given contradictory actions, the last action in the list should be the
22441 effective one. That is, if your action contains a request to add the
22442 @code{tick} mark on article 1 and, later in the list, a request to
22443 remove the mark on the same article, the mark should in fact be removed.
22445 An example action list:
22448 (((5 12 30) 'del '(tick))
22449 ((10 . 90) 'add '(read expire))
22450 ((92 94) 'del '(read)))
22453 The function should return a range of articles it wasn't able to set the
22454 mark on (currently not used for anything).
22456 There should be no result data from this function.
22458 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
22460 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
22461 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
22462 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
22463 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
22464 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
22466 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
22467 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
22468 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
22471 There should be no result data from this function.
22474 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
22476 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
22477 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
22478 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
22479 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
22480 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
22481 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
22482 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
22484 There should be no result data from this function.
22487 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
22489 The result data from this function should be a description of
22493 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
22495 description = <text>
22498 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
22500 The result data from this function should be the description of all
22501 groups available on the server.
22504 description-buffer = *description-line
22508 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
22510 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
22511 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
22512 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
22515 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
22517 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
22519 There should be no return data.
22522 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
22524 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
22525 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
22526 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
22527 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
22528 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
22531 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
22534 There should be no result data returned.
22537 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
22540 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
22541 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
22543 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
22544 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
22545 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
22546 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
22547 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
22548 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
22550 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
22551 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
22554 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22555 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22557 There should be no data returned.
22560 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
22562 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
22563 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
22564 this function in short order.
22566 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
22567 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
22569 There should be no data returned.
22572 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
22574 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
22575 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
22577 There should be no data returned.
22580 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
22582 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
22583 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
22584 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
22586 There should be no data returned.
22589 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
22591 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
22592 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
22594 There should be no data returned.
22599 @node Error Messaging
22600 @subsubsection Error Messaging
22602 @findex nnheader-report
22603 @findex nnheader-get-report
22604 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
22605 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
22606 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
22607 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
22608 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
22609 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
22612 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
22614 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
22617 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
22618 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
22619 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
22620 takes one argument---the server symbol.
22622 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
22623 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
22624 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
22627 @node Writing New Backends
22628 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
22630 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
22631 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
22632 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
22633 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
22634 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
22637 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
22638 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
22639 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
22641 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
22642 package called @code{nnoo}.
22644 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
22645 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
22651 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
22652 parameters. For instance:
22655 (nnoo-declare nndir
22659 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
22660 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
22663 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
22664 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
22665 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
22667 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
22668 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
22669 a function in those backends.
22672 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22673 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22674 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22677 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
22678 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
22679 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
22681 @item nnoo-define-basics
22682 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
22686 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22690 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
22691 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
22692 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
22694 @item nnoo-map-functions
22695 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
22696 functions from the parent backends.
22699 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22700 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22701 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
22704 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
22705 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
22706 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
22707 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
22710 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
22711 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
22712 haven't already been defined.
22718 nnmh-request-newgroups)
22722 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
22723 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
22724 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
22729 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
22732 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
22733 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
22737 (require 'nnheader)
22741 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
22743 (nnoo-declare nndir
22746 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
22747 "Where nndir will look for groups."
22748 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
22750 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
22751 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
22754 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
22755 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
22756 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
22758 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
22759 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
22761 ;;; Interface functions.
22763 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
22765 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
22766 (setq nndir-directory
22767 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
22769 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
22770 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
22771 (push `(nndir-current-group
22772 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22774 (push `(nndir-top-directory
22775 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
22777 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
22779 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
22780 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22781 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
22782 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
22783 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
22787 nnmh-status-message
22789 nnmh-request-newgroups))
22795 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22796 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
22798 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
22799 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
22800 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
22801 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
22803 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
22804 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
22809 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
22812 The abilities can be:
22816 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
22818 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
22820 This backend supports both mail and news.
22822 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
22825 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
22826 articles and groups.
22828 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
22829 true for almost all backends.
22830 @item prompt-address
22831 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
22832 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
22833 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
22837 @node Mail-like Backends
22838 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
22840 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
22841 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
22842 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
22843 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
22846 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
22847 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
22848 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
22851 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
22852 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
22855 This function takes four parameters.
22859 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
22862 @item exit-function
22863 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
22865 @item temp-directory
22866 Where the temporary files should be stored.
22869 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
22870 performed for one group only.
22873 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
22874 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
22875 find the article number assigned to this article.
22877 The function also uses the following variables:
22878 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
22879 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
22880 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
22881 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
22885 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
22886 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
22890 @node Score File Syntax
22891 @subsection Score File Syntax
22893 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
22894 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
22895 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
22897 Here's a typical score file:
22901 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
22908 BNF definition of a score file:
22911 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
22912 element = rule / atom
22913 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
22914 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
22915 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
22916 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
22918 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
22919 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
22920 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
22921 date-header = "date"
22922 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22923 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22924 score = "nil" / <integer>
22925 date = "nil" / <natural number>
22926 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
22927 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
22928 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
22929 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
22930 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22931 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
22932 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
22933 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
22934 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
22935 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
22936 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
22937 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
22938 exclude-files / read-only / touched
22939 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
22940 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
22941 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
22942 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
22943 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
22944 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
22945 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
22946 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
22947 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
22948 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
22949 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
22950 eval = "eval" space <form>
22951 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
22954 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
22957 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
22958 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
22959 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
22960 one looong line, then that's ok.
22962 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
22963 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
22967 @subsection Headers
22969 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
22970 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
22971 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
22972 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
22974 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
22975 RFC 1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
22976 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
22977 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
22978 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
22979 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
22980 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
22982 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
22983 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
22984 @code{xref}, and @code{extra}. There are macros for accessing and
22985 setting these slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
22986 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
22988 All these slots contain strings, except the @code{extra} slot, which
22989 contains an alist of header/value pairs (@pxref{To From Newsgroups}).
22995 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
22996 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
22998 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
22999 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
23000 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
23001 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
23003 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
23007 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
23010 is transformed into
23013 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
23016 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
23017 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
23020 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
23023 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
23024 is slightly tricky:
23027 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
23033 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
23036 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
23042 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
23049 and is equal to the previous range.
23051 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
23052 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
23053 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
23057 range = simple-range / normal-range
23058 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
23059 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
23060 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
23061 number *[ " " contents ]
23064 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
23065 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
23066 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
23067 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
23068 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
23073 @subsection Group Info
23075 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
23076 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
23077 describes the group.
23079 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
23080 second is a more complex one:
23083 ("no.group" 5 ((1 . 54324)))
23085 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
23086 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
23088 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
23091 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
23092 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
23093 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
23094 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
23095 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
23096 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
23097 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
23098 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
23099 this section is about.
23101 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
23102 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
23103 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
23105 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
23108 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
23109 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
23110 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
23111 group = quote <string> quote
23112 ralevel = rank / level
23113 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23114 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
23115 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
23117 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
23118 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
23119 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
23120 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
23123 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
23124 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
23127 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
23128 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
23131 @item gnus-info-group
23132 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
23133 @findex gnus-info-group
23134 @findex gnus-info-set-group
23135 Get/set the group name.
23137 @item gnus-info-rank
23138 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
23139 @findex gnus-info-rank
23140 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
23141 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
23143 @item gnus-info-level
23144 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
23145 @findex gnus-info-level
23146 @findex gnus-info-set-level
23147 Get/set the group level.
23149 @item gnus-info-score
23150 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
23151 @findex gnus-info-score
23152 @findex gnus-info-set-score
23153 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
23155 @item gnus-info-read
23156 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
23157 @findex gnus-info-read
23158 @findex gnus-info-set-read
23159 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
23161 @item gnus-info-marks
23162 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
23163 @findex gnus-info-marks
23164 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
23165 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
23167 @item gnus-info-method
23168 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
23169 @findex gnus-info-method
23170 @findex gnus-info-set-method
23171 Get/set the group select method.
23173 @item gnus-info-params
23174 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
23175 @findex gnus-info-params
23176 @findex gnus-info-set-params
23177 Get/set the group parameters.
23180 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
23181 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
23183 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
23184 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
23185 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
23186 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
23189 @node Extended Interactive
23190 @subsection Extended Interactive
23191 @cindex interactive
23192 @findex gnus-interactive
23194 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
23195 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
23196 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
23199 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
23200 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
23205 The best thing to do would have been to implement
23206 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
23207 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
23208 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
23209 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
23210 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
23211 @code{interactive}.
23213 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
23218 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
23219 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
23223 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
23224 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
23225 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
23228 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
23232 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
23236 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
23242 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
23243 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
23247 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
23248 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
23249 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
23251 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
23252 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
23253 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
23254 Gnus, that's very useful.
23256 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
23257 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
23258 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
23259 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
23260 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
23261 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
23262 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
23263 following function:
23266 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
23270 (,function ,@@args))
23274 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
23275 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
23276 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
23279 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
23280 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
23281 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
23283 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
23284 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
23285 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
23288 @node Various File Formats
23289 @subsection Various File Formats
23292 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
23293 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
23297 @node Active File Format
23298 @subsubsection Active File Format
23300 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
23301 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
23304 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
23307 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
23308 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
23309 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
23310 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
23311 no.general 1000 900 y
23314 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
23317 active = *group-line
23318 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
23319 group = <non-white-space string>
23321 high-number = <non-negative integer>
23322 low-number = <positive integer>
23323 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
23326 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
23327 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
23330 @node Newsgroups File Format
23331 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
23333 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
23334 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
23335 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
23338 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
23339 Here's the definition:
23343 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
23344 group = <non-white-space string>
23346 description = <string>
23351 @node Emacs for Heathens
23352 @section Emacs for Heathens
23354 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
23355 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
23356 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
23357 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
23358 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
23359 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
23360 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
23364 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
23365 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
23370 @subsection Keystrokes
23374 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
23377 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
23380 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
23381 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
23382 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
23383 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
23384 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
23385 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
23387 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
23388 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
23389 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
23390 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
23391 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
23392 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
23393 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
23395 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
23396 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
23397 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
23398 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
23399 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
23400 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
23401 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
23403 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
23404 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
23405 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
23406 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
23407 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
23413 @subsection Emacs Lisp
23415 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
23416 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
23417 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
23418 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
23420 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
23421 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
23422 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
23423 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
23424 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
23425 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
23426 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
23429 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
23430 write the following:
23433 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
23436 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
23437 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
23438 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
23441 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
23442 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
23443 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
23444 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
23445 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
23447 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
23448 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
23449 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
23453 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
23457 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
23460 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
23461 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
23464 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
23467 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
23468 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
23471 @include gnus-faq.texi
23492 % LocalWords: Backend BNF mucho Backends backends detailmenu cindex kindex kbd
23493 % LocalWords: findex Gnusae vindex dfn dfn samp nntp setq nnspool nntpserver
23494 % LocalWords: nnmbox backend newusers Blllrph NEWGROUPS dingnusdingnusdingnus
23495 % LocalWords: pre fab rec comp nnslashdot regex ga ga sci nnml nnbabyl nnmh
23496 % LocalWords: nnfolder emph looong eld newsreaders defun init elc pxref