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4 @settitle Semi-gnus 6.8.10 Manual
9 @c * Gnus: (gnus). The news reader gnus.
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262 \gnusauthor{by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen}
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271 Copyright \copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
273 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
274 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
275 are preserved on all copies.
277 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
278 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
279 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
280 permission notice identical to this one.
282 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
283 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
292 This file documents gnus, the GNU Emacs newsreader.
294 Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
296 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
297 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
298 are preserved on all copies.
301 Permission is granted to process this file through Tex and print the
302 results, provided the printed document carries copying permission
303 notice identical to this one except for the removal of this paragraph
304 (this paragraph not being relevant to the printed manual).
307 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
308 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided also that the
309 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
310 permission notice identical to this one.
312 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
313 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
319 @title Semi-gnus 6.8.10 Manual
321 @author by Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen
324 @vskip 0pt plus 1filll
325 Copyright @copyright{} 1995,96,97 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
327 Permission is granted to make and distribute verbatim copies of
328 this manual provided the copyright notice and this permission notice
329 are preserved on all copies.
331 Permission is granted to copy and distribute modified versions of this
332 manual under the conditions for verbatim copying, provided that the
333 entire resulting derived work is distributed under the terms of a
334 permission notice identical to this one.
336 Permission is granted to copy and distribute translations of this manual
337 into another language, under the above conditions for modified versions.
346 @top The gnus Newsreader
350 You can read news (and mail) from within Emacs by using gnus. The news
351 can be gotten by any nefarious means you can think of---@sc{nntp}, local
352 spool or your mbox file. All at the same time, if you want to push your
355 Semi-gnus provides MIME features based on SEMI API. So Semi-gnus
356 supports your right to read strange messages including big images or
357 other various kinds of formats. Semi-gnus also supports
358 internationalization/localization and multiscript features based on MULE
359 API. So Semi-gnus does not discriminate various language communities.
360 Oh, if you are a Klingon, please wait Unicode Next Generation.
362 This manual corresponds to Semi-gnus 6.8.10.
373 Gnus is the advanced, self-documenting, customizable, extensible
374 unreal-time newsreader for GNU Emacs.
376 Oops. That sounds oddly familiar, so let's start over again to avoid
377 being accused of plagiarism:
379 Gnus is a message-reading laboratory. It will let you look at just
380 about anything as if it were a newsgroup. You can read mail with it,
381 you can browse directories with it, you can @code{ftp} with it---you can
382 even read news with it!
384 Gnus tries to empower people who read news the same way Emacs empowers
385 people who edit text. Gnus sets no limits to what the user should be
386 allowed to do. Users are encouraged to extend gnus to make it behave
387 like they want it to behave. A program should not control people;
388 people should be empowered to do what they want by using (or abusing)
395 * Starting Up:: Finding news can be a pain.
396 * The Group Buffer:: Selecting, subscribing and killing groups.
397 * The Summary Buffer:: Reading, saving and posting articles.
398 * The Article Buffer:: Displaying and handling articles.
399 * Composing Messages:: Information on sending mail and news.
400 * Select Methods:: Gnus reads all messages from various select methods.
401 * Scoring:: Assigning values to articles.
402 * Various:: General purpose settings.
403 * The End:: Farewell and goodbye.
404 * Appendices:: Terminology, Emacs intro, FAQ, History, Internals.
405 * Index:: Variable, function and concept index.
406 * Key Index:: Key Index.
410 @chapter Starting gnus
415 If your system administrator has set things up properly, starting gnus
416 and reading news is extremely easy---you just type @kbd{M-x gnus} in
419 @findex gnus-other-frame
420 @kindex M-x gnus-other-frame
421 If you want to start gnus in a different frame, you can use the command
422 @kbd{M-x gnus-other-frame} instead.
424 If things do not go smoothly at startup, you have to twiddle some
425 variables in your @file{~/.gnus} file. This file is similar to
426 @file{~/.emacs}, but is read when gnus starts.
428 If you puzzle at any terms used in this manual, please refer to the
429 terminology section (@pxref{Terminology}).
432 * Finding the News:: Choosing a method for getting news.
433 * The First Time:: What does gnus do the first time you start it?
434 * The Server is Down:: How can I read my mail then?
435 * Slave Gnusae:: You can have more than one gnus active at a time.
436 * Fetching a Group:: Starting gnus just to read a group.
437 * New Groups:: What is gnus supposed to do with new groups?
438 * Startup Files:: Those pesky startup files---@file{.newsrc}.
439 * Auto Save:: Recovering from a crash.
440 * The Active File:: Reading the active file over a slow line Takes Time.
441 * Changing Servers:: You may want to move from one server to another.
442 * Startup Variables:: Other variables you might change.
446 @node Finding the News
447 @section Finding the News
450 @vindex gnus-select-method
452 The @code{gnus-select-method} variable says where gnus should look for
453 news. This variable should be a list where the first element says
454 @dfn{how} and the second element says @dfn{where}. This method is your
455 native method. All groups not fetched with this method are foreign
458 For instance, if the @samp{news.somewhere.edu} @sc{nntp} server is where
459 you want to get your daily dosage of news from, you'd say:
462 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "news.somewhere.edu"))
465 If you want to read directly from the local spool, say:
468 (setq gnus-select-method '(nnspool ""))
471 If you can use a local spool, you probably should, as it will almost
472 certainly be much faster.
474 @vindex gnus-nntpserver-file
476 @cindex @sc{nntp} server
477 If this variable is not set, gnus will take a look at the
478 @code{NNTPSERVER} environment variable. If that variable isn't set,
479 gnus will see whether @code{gnus-nntpserver-file}
480 (@file{/etc/nntpserver} by default) has any opinions on the matter. If
481 that fails as well, gnus will try to use the machine running Emacs as an
482 @sc{nntp} server. That's a long shot, though.
484 @vindex gnus-nntp-server
485 If @code{gnus-nntp-server} is set, this variable will override
486 @code{gnus-select-method}. You should therefore set
487 @code{gnus-nntp-server} to @code{nil}, which is what it is by default.
489 @vindex gnus-secondary-servers
490 You can also make gnus prompt you interactively for the name of an
491 @sc{nntp} server. If you give a non-numerical prefix to @code{gnus}
492 (i.e., @kbd{C-u M-x gnus}), gnus will let you choose between the servers
493 in the @code{gnus-secondary-servers} list (if any). You can also just
494 type in the name of any server you feel like visiting.
496 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
498 However, if you use one @sc{nntp} server regularly and are just
499 interested in a couple of groups from a different server, you would be
500 better served by using the @kbd{B} command in the group buffer. It will
501 let you have a look at what groups are available, and you can subscribe
502 to any of the groups you want to. This also makes @file{.newsrc}
503 maintenance much tidier. @xref{Foreign Groups}.
505 @vindex gnus-secondary-select-methods
507 A slightly different approach to foreign groups is to set the
508 @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods} variable. The select methods
509 listed in this variable are in many ways just as native as the
510 @code{gnus-select-method} server. They will also be queried for active
511 files during startup (if that's required), and new newsgroups that
512 appear on these servers will be subscribed (or not) just as native
515 For instance, if you use the @code{nnmbox} backend to read your mail, you
516 would typically set this variable to
519 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnmbox "")))
524 @section The First Time
525 @cindex first time usage
527 If no startup files exist, gnus will try to determine what groups should
528 be subscribed by default.
530 @vindex gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups
531 If the variable @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is set, gnus
532 will subscribe you to just those groups in that list, leaving the rest
533 killed. Your system administrator should have set this variable to
536 Since she hasn't, gnus will just subscribe you to a few arbitrarily
537 picked groups (i.e., @samp{*.newusers}). (@dfn{Arbitrary} is defined
538 here as @dfn{whatever Lars thinks you should read}.)
540 You'll also be subscribed to the gnus documentation group, which should
541 help you with most common problems.
543 If @code{gnus-default-subscribed-newsgroups} is @code{t}, gnus will just
544 use the normal functions for handling new groups, and not do anything
548 @node The Server is Down
549 @section The Server is Down
550 @cindex server errors
552 If the default server is down, gnus will understandably have some
553 problems starting. However, if you have some mail groups in addition to
554 the news groups, you may want to start gnus anyway.
556 Gnus, being the trusting sort of program, will ask whether to proceed
557 without a native select method if that server can't be contacted. This
558 will happen whether the server doesn't actually exist (i.e., you have
559 given the wrong address) or the server has just momentarily taken ill
560 for some reason or other. If you decide to continue and have no foreign
561 groups, you'll find it difficult to actually do anything in the group
562 buffer. But, hey, that's your problem. Blllrph!
564 @findex gnus-no-server
565 @kindex M-x gnus-no-server
567 If you know that the server is definitely down, or you just want to read
568 your mail without bothering with the server at all, you can use the
569 @code{gnus-no-server} command to start gnus. That might come in handy
570 if you're in a hurry as well. This command will not attempt to contact
571 your primary server---instead, it will just activate all groups on level
572 1 and 2. (You should preferably keep no native groups on those two
577 @section Slave Gnusae
580 You might want to run more than one Emacs with more than one gnus at the
581 same time. If you are using different @file{.newsrc} files (e.g., if
582 you are using the two different gnusae to read from two different
583 servers), that is no problem whatsoever. You just do it.
585 The problem appears when you want to run two Gnusae that use the same
588 To work around that problem some, we here at the Think-Tank at the gnus
589 Towers have come up with a new concept: @dfn{Masters} and @dfn{slaves}.
590 (We have applied for a patent on this concept, and have taken out a
591 copyright on those words. If you wish to use those words in conjunction
592 with each other, you have to send $1 per usage instance to me. Usage of
593 the patent (@dfn{Master/Slave Relationships In Computer Applications})
594 will be much more expensive, of course.)
596 Anyways, you start one gnus up the normal way with @kbd{M-x gnus} (or
597 however you do it). Each subsequent slave gnusae should be started with
598 @kbd{M-x gnus-slave}. These slaves won't save normal @file{.newsrc}
599 files, but instead save @dfn{slave files} that contain information only
600 on what groups have been read in the slave session. When a master gnus
601 starts, it will read (and delete) these slave files, incorporating all
602 information from them. (The slave files will be read in the sequence
603 they were created, so the latest changes will have precedence.)
605 Information from the slave files has, of course, precedence over the
606 information in the normal (i.e., master) @code{.newsrc} file.
609 @node Fetching a Group
610 @section Fetching a Group
611 @cindex fetching a group
613 @findex gnus-fetch-group
614 It is sometimes convenient to be able to just say ``I want to read this
615 group and I don't care whether gnus has been started or not''. This is
616 perhaps more useful for people who write code than for users, but the
617 command @code{gnus-fetch-group} provides this functionality in any case.
618 It takes the group name as a parameter.
626 @vindex gnus-check-new-newsgroups
627 If you are satisfied that you really never want to see any new groups,
628 you can set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil}. This will
629 also save you some time at startup. Even if this variable is
630 @code{nil}, you can always subscribe to the new groups just by pressing
631 @kbd{U} in the group buffer (@pxref{Group Maintenance}). This variable
632 is @code{ask-server} by default. If you set this variable to
633 @code{always}, then gnus will query the backends for new groups even
634 when you do the @kbd{g} command (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
637 * Checking New Groups:: Determining what groups are new.
638 * Subscription Methods:: What gnus should do with new groups.
639 * Filtering New Groups:: Making gnus ignore certain new groups.
643 @node Checking New Groups
644 @subsection Checking New Groups
646 Gnus normally determines whether a group is new or not by comparing the
647 list of groups from the active file(s) with the lists of subscribed and
648 dead groups. This isn't a particularly fast method. If
649 @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} is @code{ask-server}, gnus will ask the
650 server for new groups since the last time. This is both faster and
651 cheaper. This also means that you can get rid of the list of killed
652 groups altogether, so you may set @code{gnus-save-killed-list} to
653 @code{nil}, which will save time both at startup, at exit, and all over.
654 Saves disk space, too. Why isn't this the default, then?
655 Unfortunately, not all servers support this command.
657 I bet I know what you're thinking now: How do I find out whether my
658 server supports @code{ask-server}? No? Good, because I don't have a
659 fail-safe answer. I would suggest just setting this variable to
660 @code{ask-server} and see whether any new groups appear within the next
661 few days. If any do, then it works. If none do, then it doesn't work.
662 I could write a function to make gnus guess whether the server supports
663 @code{ask-server}, but it would just be a guess. So I won't. You could
664 @code{telnet} to the server and say @code{HELP} and see whether it lists
665 @samp{NEWGROUPS} among the commands it understands. If it does, then it
666 might work. (But there are servers that lists @samp{NEWGROUPS} without
667 supporting the function properly.)
669 This variable can also be a list of select methods. If so, gnus will
670 issue an @code{ask-server} command to each of the select methods, and
671 subscribe them (or not) using the normal methods. This might be handy
672 if you are monitoring a few servers for new groups. A side effect is
673 that startup will take much longer, so you can meditate while waiting.
674 Use the mantra ``dingnusdingnusdingnus'' to achieve permanent bliss.
677 @node Subscription Methods
678 @subsection Subscription Methods
680 @vindex gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method
681 What gnus does when it encounters a new group is determined by the
682 @code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} variable.
684 This variable should contain a function. This function will be called
685 with the name of the new group as the only parameter.
687 Some handy pre-fab functions are:
691 @item gnus-subscribe-zombies
692 @vindex gnus-subscribe-zombies
693 Make all new groups zombies. This is the default. You can browse the
694 zombies later (with @kbd{A z}) and either kill them all off properly
695 (with @kbd{S z}), or subscribe to them (with @kbd{u}).
697 @item gnus-subscribe-randomly
698 @vindex gnus-subscribe-randomly
699 Subscribe all new groups in arbitrary order. This really means that all
700 new groups will be added at ``the top'' of the group buffer.
702 @item gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
703 @vindex gnus-subscribe-alphabetically
704 Subscribe all new groups in alphabetical order.
706 @item gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
707 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchically
708 Subscribe all new groups hierarchically. The difference between this
709 function and @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} is slight.
710 @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically} will subscribe new groups in a strictly
711 alphabetical fashion, while this function will enter groups into it's
712 hierarchy. So if you want to have the @samp{rec} hierarchy before the
713 @samp{comp} hierarchy, this function will not mess that configuration
714 up. Or something like that.
716 @item gnus-subscribe-interactively
717 @vindex gnus-subscribe-interactively
718 Subscribe new groups interactively. This means that gnus will ask you
719 about @strong{all} new groups. The groups you choose to subscribe to
720 will be subscribed hierarchically.
722 @item gnus-subscribe-killed
723 @vindex gnus-subscribe-killed
728 @vindex gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive
729 A closely related variable is
730 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. (That's quite a
731 mouthful.) If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will ask you in a
732 hierarchical fashion whether to subscribe to new groups or not. Gnus
733 will ask you for each sub-hierarchy whether you want to descend the
736 One common mistake is to set the variable a few paragraphs above
737 (@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method}) to
738 @code{gnus-subscribe-hierarchical-interactive}. This is an error. This
739 will not work. This is ga-ga. So don't do it.
742 @node Filtering New Groups
743 @subsection Filtering New Groups
745 A nice and portable way to control which new newsgroups should be
746 subscribed (or ignored) is to put an @dfn{options} line at the start of
747 the @file{.newsrc} file. Here's an example:
750 options -n !alt.all !rec.all sci.all
753 @vindex gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method
754 This line obviously belongs to a serious-minded intellectual scientific
755 person (or she may just be plain old boring), because it says that all
756 groups that have names beginning with @samp{alt} and @samp{rec} should
757 be ignored, and all groups with names beginning with @samp{sci} should
758 be subscribed. Gnus will not use the normal subscription method for
759 subscribing these groups.
760 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method} is used instead. This
761 variable defaults to @code{gnus-subscribe-alphabetically}.
763 @vindex gnus-options-not-subscribe
764 @vindex gnus-options-subscribe
765 If you don't want to mess with your @file{.newsrc} file, you can just
766 set the two variables @code{gnus-options-subscribe} and
767 @code{gnus-options-not-subscribe}. These two variables do exactly the
768 same as the @file{.newsrc} @samp{options -n} trick. Both are regexps,
769 and if the new group matches the former, it will be unconditionally
770 subscribed, and if it matches the latter, it will be ignored.
772 @vindex gnus-auto-subscribed-groups
773 Yet another variable that meddles here is
774 @code{gnus-auto-subscribed-groups}. It works exactly like
775 @code{gnus-options-subscribe}, and is therefore really superfluous, but I
776 thought it would be nice to have two of these. This variable is more
777 meant for setting some ground rules, while the other variable is used
778 more for user fiddling. By default this variable makes all new groups
779 that come from mail backends (@code{nnml}, @code{nnbabyl},
780 @code{nnfolder}, @code{nnmbox}, and @code{nnmh}) subscribed. If you
781 don't like that, just set this variable to @code{nil}.
783 New groups that match this regexp are subscribed using
784 @code{gnus-subscribe-options-newsgroup-method}.
787 @node Changing Servers
788 @section Changing Servers
789 @cindex changing servers
791 Sometimes it is necessary to move from one @sc{nntp} server to another.
792 This happens very rarely, but perhaps you change jobs, or one server is
793 very flaky and you want to use another.
795 Changing the server is pretty easy, right? You just change
796 @code{gnus-select-method} to point to the new server?
800 Article numbers are not (in any way) kept synchronized between different
801 @sc{nntp} servers, and the only way Gnus keeps track of what articles
802 you have read is by keeping track of article numbers. So when you
803 change @code{gnus-select-method}, your @file{.newsrc} file becomes
806 Gnus provides a few functions to attempt to translate a @file{.newsrc}
807 file from one server to another. They all have one thing in
808 common---they take a looong time to run. You don't want to use these
809 functions more than absolutely necessary.
811 @kindex M-x gnus-change-server
812 @findex gnus-change-server
813 If you have access to both servers, Gnus can request the headers for all
814 the articles you have read and compare @code{Message-ID}s and map the
815 article numbers of the read articles and article marks. The @kbd{M-x
816 gnus-change-server} command will do this for all your native groups. It
817 will prompt for the method you want to move to.
819 @kindex M-x gnus-group-move-group-to-server
820 @findex gnus-group-move-group-to-server
821 You can also move individual groups with the @kbd{M-x
822 gnus-group-move-group-to-server} command. This is useful if you want to
823 move a (foreign) group from one server to another.
825 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
826 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
827 If you don't have access to both the old and new server, all your marks
828 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use the @kbd{M-x
829 gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups} command to clear out all data
830 that you have on your native groups. Use with caution.
834 @section Startup Files
835 @cindex startup files
840 Now, you all know about the @file{.newsrc} file. All subscription
841 information is traditionally stored in this file.
843 Things got a bit more complicated with @sc{GNUS}. In addition to
844 keeping the @file{.newsrc} file updated, it also used a file called
845 @file{.newsrc.el} for storing all the information that didn't fit into
846 the @file{.newsrc} file. (Actually, it also duplicated everything in
847 the @file{.newsrc} file.) @sc{GNUS} would read whichever one of these
848 files was the most recently saved, which enabled people to swap between
849 @sc{gnus} and other newsreaders.
851 That was kinda silly, so Gnus went one better: In addition to the
852 @file{.newsrc} and @file{.newsrc.el} files, Gnus also has a file called
853 @file{.newsrc.eld}. It will read whichever of these files that are most
854 recent, but it will never write a @file{.newsrc.el} file. You should
855 never delete the @file{.newsrc.eld} file---it contains much information
856 not stored in the @file{.newsrc} file.
858 In addition, gnus does not change anything. Hail comrade Lars!
860 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-file
861 You can turn off writing the @file{.newsrc} file by setting
862 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-file} to @code{nil}, which means you can delete
863 the file and save some space, as well as exiting from gnus faster.
864 However, this will make it impossible to use other newsreaders than
865 gnus. But hey, who would want to, right?
867 @vindex gnus-save-killed-list
868 If @code{gnus-save-killed-list} (default @code{t}) is @code{nil}, Gnus
869 will not save the list of killed groups to the startup file. This will
870 save both time (when starting and quitting) and space (on disk). It
871 will also mean that Gnus has no record of what groups are new or old,
872 so the automatic new groups subscription methods become meaningless.
873 You should always set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{nil} or
874 @code{ask-server} if you set this variable to @code{nil} (@pxref{New
875 Groups}). This variable can also be a regular expression. If that's
876 the case, remove all groups that do not match this regexp before
877 saving. This can be useful in certain obscure situations that involve
878 several servers where not all servers support @code{ask-server}.
880 @vindex gnus-startup-file
881 The @code{gnus-startup-file} variable says where the startup files are.
882 The default value is @file{~/.newsrc}, with the Gnus (El Dingo) startup
883 file being whatever that one is, with a @samp{.eld} appended.
885 @vindex gnus-save-newsrc-hook
886 @vindex gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook
887 @vindex gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook
888 @code{gnus-save-newsrc-hook} is called before saving any of the newsrc
889 files, while @code{gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook} is called just before
890 saving the @file{.newsrc.eld} file, and
891 @code{gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook} is called just before saving the
892 @file{.newsrc} file. The latter two are commonly used to turn version
893 control on or off. Version control is on by default when saving the
894 startup files. If you want to turn backup creation off, say something like:
897 (defun turn-off-backup ()
898 (set (make-local-variable 'backup-inhibited) t))
900 (add-hook 'gnus-save-quick-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
901 (add-hook 'gnus-save-standard-newsrc-hook 'turn-off-backup)
904 @vindex gnus-init-file
905 When gnus starts, it will read the @code{gnus-site-init-file}
906 (@file{.../site-lisp/gnus} by default) and @code{gnus-init-file}
907 (@file{~/.gnus} by default) files. These are normal Emacs Lisp files
908 and can be used to avoid cluttering your @file{~/.emacs} and
909 @file{site-init} files with gnus stuff. Gnus will also check for files
910 with the same names as these, but with @file{.elc} and @file{.el}
911 suffixes. In other words, if you have set @code{gnus-init-file} to
912 @file{~/.gnus}, it will look for @file{~/.gnus.elc}, @file{~/.gnus.el},
913 and finally @file{~/.gnus} (in this order).
922 Whenever you do something that changes the gnus data (reading articles,
923 catching up, killing/subscribing groups), the change is added to a
924 special @dfn{dribble buffer}. This buffer is auto-saved the normal
925 Emacs way. If your Emacs should crash before you have saved the
926 @file{.newsrc} files, all changes you have made can be recovered from
929 If gnus detects this file at startup, it will ask the user whether to
930 read it. The auto save file is deleted whenever the real startup file
933 @vindex gnus-use-dribble-file
934 If @code{gnus-use-dribble-file} is @code{nil}, gnus won't create and
935 maintain a dribble buffer. The default is @code{t}.
937 @vindex gnus-dribble-directory
938 Gnus will put the dribble file(s) in @code{gnus-dribble-directory}. If
939 this variable is @code{nil}, which it is by default, gnus will dribble
940 into the directory where the @file{.newsrc} file is located. (This is
941 normally the user's home directory.) The dribble file will get the same
942 file permissions as the @code{.newsrc} file.
944 @vindex gnus-always-read-dribble-file
945 If @code{gnus-always-read-dribble-file} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will
946 read the dribble file on startup without querying the user.
949 @node The Active File
950 @section The Active File
952 @cindex ignored groups
954 When gnus starts, or indeed whenever it tries to determine whether new
955 articles have arrived, it reads the active file. This is a very large
956 file that lists all the active groups and articles on the server.
958 @vindex gnus-ignored-newsgroups
959 Before examining the active file, gnus deletes all lines that match the
960 regexp @code{gnus-ignored-newsgroups}. This is done primarily to reject
961 any groups with bogus names, but you can use this variable to make gnus
962 ignore hierarchies you aren't ever interested in. However, this is not
963 recommended. In fact, it's highly discouraged. Instead, @pxref{New
964 Groups} for an overview of other variables that can be used instead.
967 @c @code{nil} by default, and will slow down active file handling somewhat
968 @c if you set it to anything else.
970 @vindex gnus-read-active-file
972 The active file can be rather Huge, so if you have a slow network, you
973 can set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{nil} to prevent gnus from
974 reading the active file. This variable is @code{some} by default.
976 Gnus will try to make do by getting information just on the groups that
977 you actually subscribe to.
979 Note that if you subscribe to lots and lots of groups, setting this
980 variable to @code{nil} will probably make gnus slower, not faster. At
981 present, having this variable @code{nil} will slow gnus down
982 considerably, unless you read news over a 2400 baud modem.
984 This variable can also have the value @code{some}. Gnus will then
985 attempt to read active info only on the subscribed groups. On some
986 servers this is quite fast (on sparkling, brand new INN servers that
987 support the @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command), on others this isn't fast
988 at all. In any case, @code{some} should be faster than @code{nil}, and
989 is certainly faster than @code{t} over slow lines.
991 If this variable is @code{nil}, gnus will ask for group info in total
992 lock-step, which isn't very fast. If it is @code{some} and you use an
993 @sc{nntp} server, gnus will pump out commands as fast as it can, and
994 read all the replies in one swoop. This will normally result in better
995 performance, but if the server does not support the aforementioned
996 @code{LIST ACTIVE group} command, this isn't very nice to the server.
998 In any case, if you use @code{some} or @code{nil}, you should definitely
999 kill all groups that you aren't interested in to speed things up.
1001 Note that this variable also affects active file retrieval from
1002 secondary select methods.
1005 @node Startup Variables
1006 @section Startup Variables
1010 @item gnus-load-hook
1011 @vindex gnus-load-hook
1012 A hook run while gnus is being loaded. Note that this hook will
1013 normally be run just once in each Emacs session, no matter how many
1014 times you start gnus.
1016 @item gnus-before-startup-hook
1017 @vindex gnus-before-startup-hook
1018 A hook run after starting up gnus successfully.
1020 @item gnus-startup-hook
1021 @vindex gnus-startup-hook
1022 A hook run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1024 @item gnus-started-hook
1025 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1026 A hook that is run as the very last thing after starting up gnus
1029 @item gnus-started-hook
1030 @vindex gnus-started-hook
1031 A hook that is run after reading the @file{.newsrc} file(s), but before
1032 generating the group buffer.
1034 @item gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1035 @vindex gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups
1036 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will check for and delete all bogus groups at
1037 startup. A @dfn{bogus group} is a group that you have in your
1038 @file{.newsrc} file, but doesn't exist on the news server. Checking for
1039 bogus groups can take quite a while, so to save time and resources it's
1040 best to leave this option off, and do the checking for bogus groups once
1041 in a while from the group buffer instead (@pxref{Group Maintenance}).
1043 @item gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1044 @vindex gnus-inhibit-startup-message
1045 If non-@code{nil}, the startup message won't be displayed. That way,
1046 your boss might not notice as easily that you are reading news instead
1047 of doing your job. Note that this variable is used before
1048 @file{.gnus.el} is loaded, so it should be set in @code{.emacs} instead.
1050 @item gnus-no-groups-message
1051 @vindex gnus-no-groups-message
1052 Message displayed by gnus when no groups are available.
1054 @item gnus-play-startup-jingle
1055 @vindex gnus-play-startup-jingle
1056 If non-@code{nil}, play the gnus jingle at startup.
1058 @item gnus-startup-jingle
1059 @vindex gnus-startup-jingle
1060 Jingle to be played if the above variable is non-@code{nil}. The
1061 default is @samp{Tuxedomoon.Jingle4.au}.
1066 @node The Group Buffer
1067 @chapter The Group Buffer
1068 @cindex group buffer
1070 The @dfn{group buffer} lists all (or parts) of the available groups. It
1071 is the first buffer shown when gnus starts, and will never be killed as
1072 long as gnus is active.
1076 \gnusfigure{The Group Buffer}{320}{
1077 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group.ps,height=9cm}}
1078 \put(120,37){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Buffer name}}
1079 \put(120,38){\vector(1,2){10}}
1080 \put(40,60){\makebox(0,0)[r]{Mode line}}
1081 \put(40,58){\vector(1,0){30}}
1082 \put(200,28){\makebox(0,0)[t]{Native select method}}
1083 \put(200,26){\vector(-1,2){15}}
1089 * Group Buffer Format:: Information listed and how you can change it.
1090 * Group Maneuvering:: Commands for moving in the group buffer.
1091 * Selecting a Group:: Actually reading news.
1092 * Group Data:: Changing the info for a group.
1093 * Subscription Commands:: Unsubscribing, killing, subscribing.
1094 * Group Levels:: Levels? What are those, then?
1095 * Group Score:: A mechanism for finding out what groups you like.
1096 * Marking Groups:: You can mark groups for later processing.
1097 * Foreign Groups:: Creating and editing groups.
1098 * Group Parameters:: Each group may have different parameters set.
1099 * Listing Groups:: Gnus can list various subsets of the groups.
1100 * Sorting Groups:: Re-arrange the group order.
1101 * Group Maintenance:: Maintaining a tidy @file{.newsrc} file.
1102 * Browse Foreign Server:: You can browse a server. See what it has to offer.
1103 * Exiting Gnus:: Stop reading news and get some work done.
1104 * Group Topics:: A folding group mode divided into topics.
1105 * Misc Group Stuff:: Other stuff that you can to do.
1109 @node Group Buffer Format
1110 @section Group Buffer Format
1113 * Group Line Specification:: Deciding how the group buffer is to look.
1114 * Group Modeline Specification:: The group buffer modeline.
1115 * Group Highlighting:: Having nice colors in the group buffer.
1119 @node Group Line Specification
1120 @subsection Group Line Specification
1121 @cindex group buffer format
1123 The default format of the group buffer is nice and dull, but you can
1124 make it as exciting and ugly as you feel like.
1126 Here's a couple of example group lines:
1129 25: news.announce.newusers
1130 * 0: alt.fan.andrea-dworkin
1135 You can see that there are 25 unread articles in
1136 @samp{news.announce.newusers}. There are no unread articles, but some
1137 ticked articles, in @samp{alt.fan.andrea-dworkin} (see that little
1138 asterisk at the beginning of the line?).
1140 @vindex gnus-group-line-format
1141 You can change that format to whatever you want by fiddling with the
1142 @code{gnus-group-line-format} variable. This variable works along the
1143 lines of a @code{format} specification, which is pretty much the same as
1144 a @code{printf} specifications, for those of you who use (feh!) C.
1145 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
1147 @samp{%M%S%5y: %(%g%)\n} is the value that produced those lines above.
1149 There should always be a colon on the line; the cursor always moves to
1150 the colon after performing an operation. Nothing else is required---not
1151 even the group name. All displayed text is just window dressing, and is
1152 never examined by gnus. Gnus stores all real information it needs using
1155 (Note that if you make a really strange, wonderful, spreadsheet-like
1156 layout, everybody will believe you are hard at work with the accounting
1157 instead of wasting time reading news.)
1159 Here's a list of all available format characters:
1164 An asterisk if the group only has marked articles.
1167 Whether the group is subscribed.
1170 Level of subscribedness.
1173 Number of unread articles.
1176 Number of dormant articles.
1179 Number of ticked articles.
1182 Number of read articles.
1185 Estimated total number of articles. (This is really @var{max-number}
1186 minus @var{min-number} plus 1.)
1189 Number of unread, unticked, non-dormant articles.
1192 Number of ticked and dormant articles.
1201 Newsgroup description.
1204 @samp{m} if moderated.
1207 @samp{(m)} if moderated.
1216 A string that looks like @samp{<%s:%n>} if a foreign select method is
1220 Indentation based on the level of the topic (@pxref{Group Topics}).
1223 @vindex gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels
1224 Short (collapsed) group name. The @code{gnus-group-uncollapsed-levels}
1225 variable says how many levels to leave at the end of the group name.
1226 The default is 1---this will mean that group names like
1227 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} will be shortened to @samp{g.emacs.gnus}.
1230 @vindex gnus-new-mail-mark
1232 @samp{%} (@code{gnus-new-mail-mark}) if there has arrived new mail to
1236 A string that says when you last read the group (@pxref{Group
1240 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
1241 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
1242 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
1243 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed a single dummy
1244 parameter as argument. The function should return a string, which will
1245 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
1250 All the ``number-of'' specs will be filled with an asterisk (@samp{*})
1251 if no info is available---for instance, if it is a non-activated foreign
1252 group, or a bogus native group.
1255 @node Group Modeline Specification
1256 @subsection Group Modeline Specification
1257 @cindex group modeline
1259 @vindex gnus-group-mode-line-format
1260 The mode line can be changed by setting
1261 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
1262 doesn't understand that many format specifiers:
1266 The native news server.
1268 The native select method.
1272 @node Group Highlighting
1273 @subsection Group Highlighting
1274 @cindex highlighting
1275 @cindex group highlighting
1277 @vindex gnus-group-highlight
1278 Highlighting in the group buffer is controlled by the
1279 @code{gnus-group-highlight} variable. This is an alist with elements
1280 that look like @var{(form . face)}. If @var{form} evaluates to
1281 something non-@code{nil}, the @var{face} will be used on the line.
1283 Here's an example value for this variable that might look nice if the
1287 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-1 '((t (:foreground "Red" :bold t))))
1288 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-2 '((t (:foreground "SeaGreen" :bold t))))
1289 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-3 '((t (:foreground "SpringGreen" :bold t))))
1290 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-4 '((t (:foreground "SteelBlue" :bold t))))
1291 (face-spec-set 'my-group-face-5 '((t (:foreground "SkyBlue" :bold t))))
1293 (setq gnus-group-highlight
1294 '(((> unread 200) . my-group-face-1)
1295 ((and (< level 3) (zerop unread)) . my-group-face-2)
1296 ((< level 3) . my-group-face-3)
1297 ((zerop unread) . my-group-face-4)
1298 (t . my-group-face-5)))
1301 Also @pxref{Faces and Fonts}.
1303 Variables that are dynamically bound when the forms are evaluated
1310 The number of unread articles in the group.
1314 Whether the group is a mail group.
1316 The level of the group.
1318 The score of the group.
1320 The number of ticked articles in the group.
1322 The total number of articles in the group. Or rather, MAX-NUMBER minus
1323 MIN-NUMBER plus one.
1325 When using the topic minor mode, this variable is bound to the current
1326 topic being inserted.
1329 When the forms are @code{eval}ed, point is at the beginning of the line
1330 of the group in question, so you can use many of the normal gnus
1331 functions for snarfing info on the group.
1333 @vindex gnus-group-update-hook
1334 @findex gnus-group-highlight-line
1335 @code{gnus-group-update-hook} is called when a group line is changed.
1336 It will not be called when @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}. This hook
1337 calls @code{gnus-group-highlight-line} by default.
1340 @node Group Maneuvering
1341 @section Group Maneuvering
1342 @cindex group movement
1344 All movement commands understand the numeric prefix and will behave as
1345 expected, hopefully.
1351 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group
1352 Go to the next group that has unread articles
1353 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group}).
1359 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group
1360 Go to the previous group that has unread articles
1361 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group}).
1365 @findex gnus-group-next-group
1366 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
1370 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
1371 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
1375 @findex gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level
1376 Go to the next unread group on the same (or lower) level
1377 (@code{gnus-group-next-unread-group-same-level}).
1381 @findex gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level
1382 Go to the previous unread group on the same (or lower) level
1383 (@code{gnus-group-prev-unread-group-same-level}).
1386 Three commands for jumping to groups:
1392 @findex gnus-group-jump-to-group
1393 Jump to a group (and make it visible if it isn't already)
1394 (@code{gnus-group-jump-to-group}). Killed groups can be jumped to, just
1399 @findex gnus-group-best-unread-group
1400 Jump to the unread group with the lowest level
1401 (@code{gnus-group-best-unread-group}).
1405 @findex gnus-group-first-unread-group
1406 Jump to the first group with unread articles
1407 (@code{gnus-group-first-unread-group}).
1410 @vindex gnus-group-goto-unread
1411 If @code{gnus-group-goto-unread} is @code{nil}, all the movement
1412 commands will move to the next group, not the next unread group. Even
1413 the commands that say they move to the next unread group. The default
1417 @node Selecting a Group
1418 @section Selecting a Group
1419 @cindex group selection
1424 @kindex SPACE (Group)
1425 @findex gnus-group-read-group
1426 Select the current group, switch to the summary buffer and display the
1427 first unread article (@code{gnus-group-read-group}). If there are no
1428 unread articles in the group, or if you give a non-numerical prefix to
1429 this command, gnus will offer to fetch all the old articles in this
1430 group from the server. If you give a numerical prefix @var{N}, @var{N}
1431 determines the number of articles gnus will fetch. If @var{N} is
1432 positive, gnus fetches the @var{N} newest articles, if @var{N} is
1433 negative, gnus fetches the @var{abs(N)} oldest articles.
1437 @findex gnus-group-select-group
1438 Select the current group and switch to the summary buffer
1439 (@code{gnus-group-select-group}). Takes the same arguments as
1440 @code{gnus-group-read-group}---the only difference is that this command
1441 does not display the first unread article automatically upon group
1445 @kindex M-RET (Group)
1446 @findex gnus-group-quick-select-group
1447 This does the same as the command above, but tries to do it with the
1448 minimum amount of fuzz (@code{gnus-group-quick-select-group}). No
1449 scoring/killing will be performed, there will be no highlights and no
1450 expunging. This might be useful if you're in a real hurry and have to
1451 enter some humongous group. If you give a 0 prefix to this command
1452 (i.e., @kbd{0 M-RET}), gnus won't even generate the summary buffer,
1453 which is useful if you want to toggle threading before generating the
1454 summary buffer (@pxref{Summary Generation Commands}).
1457 @kindex M-SPACE (Group)
1458 @findex gnus-group-visible-select-group
1459 This is yet one more command that does the same as the @kbd{RET}
1460 command, but this one does it without expunging and hiding dormants
1461 (@code{gnus-group-visible-select-group}).
1464 @kindex M-C-RET (Group)
1465 @findex gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally
1466 Finally, this command selects the current group ephemerally without
1467 doing any processing of its contents
1468 (@code{gnus-group-select-group-ephemerally}). Even threading has been
1469 turned off. Everything you do in the group after selecting it in this
1470 manner will have no permanent effects.
1474 @vindex gnus-large-newsgroup
1475 The @code{gnus-large-newsgroup} variable says what gnus should consider
1476 to be a big group. This is 200 by default. If the group has more
1477 (unread and/or ticked) articles than this, gnus will query the user
1478 before entering the group. The user can then specify how many articles
1479 should be fetched from the server. If the user specifies a negative
1480 number (@code{-n}), the @code{n} oldest articles will be fetched. If it
1481 is positive, the @code{n} articles that have arrived most recently will
1484 @vindex gnus-select-group-hook
1485 @vindex gnus-auto-select-first
1486 @code{gnus-auto-select-first} control whether any articles are selected
1487 automatically when entering a group with the @kbd{SPACE} command.
1492 Don't select any articles when entering the group. Just display the
1493 full summary buffer.
1496 Select the first unread article when entering the group.
1499 Select the highest scored article in the group when entering the
1503 If you want to prevent automatic selection in some group (say, in a
1504 binary group with Huge articles) you can set this variable to @code{nil}
1505 in @code{gnus-select-group-hook}, which is called when a group is
1509 @node Subscription Commands
1510 @section Subscription Commands
1511 @cindex subscription
1519 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group
1520 @c @icon{gnus-group-unsubscribe}
1521 Toggle subscription to the current group
1522 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-current-group}).
1528 @findex gnus-group-unsubscribe-group
1529 Prompt for a group to subscribe, and then subscribe it. If it was
1530 subscribed already, unsubscribe it instead
1531 (@code{gnus-group-unsubscribe-group}).
1537 @findex gnus-group-kill-group
1538 @c @icon{gnus-group-kill-group}
1539 Kill the current group (@code{gnus-group-kill-group}).
1545 @findex gnus-group-yank-group
1546 Yank the last killed group (@code{gnus-group-yank-group}).
1549 @kindex C-x C-t (Group)
1550 @findex gnus-group-transpose-groups
1551 Transpose two groups (@code{gnus-group-transpose-groups}). This isn't
1552 really a subscription command, but you can use it instead of a
1553 kill-and-yank sequence sometimes.
1559 @findex gnus-group-kill-region
1560 Kill all groups in the region (@code{gnus-group-kill-region}).
1564 @findex gnus-group-kill-all-zombies
1565 Kill all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-kill-all-zombies}).
1568 @kindex S C-k (Group)
1569 @findex gnus-group-kill-level
1570 Kill all groups on a certain level (@code{gnus-group-kill-level}).
1571 These groups can't be yanked back after killing, so this command should
1572 be used with some caution. The only time where this command comes in
1573 really handy is when you have a @file{.newsrc} with lots of unsubscribed
1574 groups that you want to get rid off. @kbd{S C-k} on level 7 will
1575 kill off all unsubscribed groups that do not have message numbers in the
1576 @file{.newsrc} file.
1580 Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
1590 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current
1591 @vindex gnus-group-catchup-group-hook
1592 @c @icon{gnus-group-catchup-current}
1593 Mark all unticked articles in this group as read
1594 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current}).
1595 @code{gnus-group-catchup-group-hook} is called when catching up a group
1596 from the group buffer.
1600 @findex gnus-group-catchup-current-all
1601 Mark all articles in this group, even the ticked ones, as read
1602 (@code{gnus-group-catchup-current-all}).
1606 @findex gnus-group-clear-data
1607 Clear the data from the current group---nix out marks and the list of
1608 read articles (@code{gnus-group-clear-data}).
1610 @item M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1611 @kindex M-x gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1612 @findex gnus-group-clear-data-on-native-groups
1613 If you have switched from one @sc{nntp} server to another, all your marks
1614 and read ranges have become worthless. You can use this command to
1615 clear out all data that you have on your native groups. Use with
1622 @section Group Levels
1626 All groups have a level of @dfn{subscribedness}. For instance, if a
1627 group is on level 2, it is more subscribed than a group on level 5. You
1628 can ask gnus to just list groups on a given level or lower
1629 (@pxref{Listing Groups}), or to just check for new articles in groups on
1630 a given level or lower (@pxref{Scanning New Messages}).
1632 Remember: The higher the level of the group, the less important it is.
1638 @findex gnus-group-set-current-level
1639 Set the level of the current group. If a numeric prefix is given, the
1640 next @var{n} groups will have their levels set. The user will be
1641 prompted for a level.
1644 @vindex gnus-level-killed
1645 @vindex gnus-level-zombie
1646 @vindex gnus-level-unsubscribed
1647 @vindex gnus-level-subscribed
1648 Gnus considers groups from levels 1 to
1649 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (inclusive) (default 5) to be subscribed,
1650 @code{gnus-level-subscribed} (exclusive) and
1651 @code{gnus-level-unsubscribed} (inclusive) (default 7) to be
1652 unsubscribed, @code{gnus-level-zombie} to be zombies (walking dead)
1653 (default 8) and @code{gnus-level-killed} to be killed (completely dead)
1654 (default 9). Gnus treats subscribed and unsubscribed groups exactly the
1655 same, but zombie and killed groups have no information on what articles
1656 you have read, etc, stored. This distinction between dead and living
1657 groups isn't done because it is nice or clever, it is done purely for
1658 reasons of efficiency.
1660 It is recommended that you keep all your mail groups (if any) on quite
1661 low levels (e.g. 1 or 2).
1663 If you want to play with the level variables, you should show some care.
1664 Set them once, and don't touch them ever again. Better yet, don't touch
1665 them at all unless you know exactly what you're doing.
1667 @vindex gnus-level-default-unsubscribed
1668 @vindex gnus-level-default-subscribed
1669 Two closely related variables are @code{gnus-level-default-subscribed}
1670 (default 3) and @code{gnus-level-default-unsubscribed} (default 6),
1671 which are the levels that new groups will be put on if they are
1672 (un)subscribed. These two variables should, of course, be inside the
1673 relevant valid ranges.
1675 @vindex gnus-keep-same-level
1676 If @code{gnus-keep-same-level} is non-@code{nil}, some movement commands
1677 will only move to groups of the same level (or lower). In
1678 particular, going from the last article in one group to the next group
1679 will go to the next group of the same level (or lower). This might be
1680 handy if you want to read the most important groups before you read the
1683 @vindex gnus-group-default-list-level
1684 All groups with a level less than or equal to
1685 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level} will be listed in the group buffer
1688 @vindex gnus-group-list-inactive-groups
1689 If @code{gnus-group-list-inactive-groups} is non-@code{nil}, non-active
1690 groups will be listed along with the unread groups. This variable is
1691 @code{t} by default. If it is @code{nil}, inactive groups won't be
1694 @vindex gnus-group-use-permanent-levels
1695 If @code{gnus-group-use-permanent-levels} is non-@code{nil}, once you
1696 give a level prefix to @kbd{g} or @kbd{l}, all subsequent commands will
1697 use this level as the ``work'' level.
1699 @vindex gnus-activate-level
1700 Gnus will normally just activate (i. e., query the server about) groups
1701 on level @code{gnus-activate-level} or less. If you don't want to
1702 activate unsubscribed groups, for instance, you might set this variable
1703 to 5. The default is 6.
1707 @section Group Score
1712 You would normally keep important groups on high levels, but that scheme
1713 is somewhat restrictive. Don't you wish you could have Gnus sort the
1714 group buffer according to how often you read groups, perhaps? Within
1717 This is what @dfn{group score} is for. You can assign a score to each
1718 group. You can then sort the group buffer based on this score.
1719 Alternatively, you can sort on score and then level. (Taken together,
1720 the level and the score is called the @dfn{rank} of the group. A group
1721 that is on level 4 and has a score of 1 has a higher rank than a group
1722 on level 5 that has a score of 300. (The level is the most significant
1723 part and the score is the least significant part.))
1725 @findex gnus-summary-bubble-group
1726 If you want groups you read often to get higher scores than groups you
1727 read seldom you can add the @code{gnus-summary-bubble-group} function to
1728 the @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} hook. This will result (after
1729 sorting) in a bubbling sort of action. If you want to see that in
1730 action after each summary exit, you can add
1731 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank} or
1732 @code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score} to the same hook, but that will
1733 slow things down somewhat.
1736 @node Marking Groups
1737 @section Marking Groups
1738 @cindex marking groups
1740 If you want to perform some command on several groups, and they appear
1741 subsequently in the group buffer, you would normally just give a
1742 numerical prefix to the command. Most group commands will then do your
1743 bidding on those groups.
1745 However, if the groups are not in sequential order, you can still
1746 perform a command on several groups. You simply mark the groups first
1747 with the process mark and then execute the command.
1755 @findex gnus-group-mark-group
1756 Set the mark on the current group (@code{gnus-group-mark-group}).
1762 @findex gnus-group-unmark-group
1763 Remove the mark from the current group
1764 (@code{gnus-group-unmark-group}).
1768 @findex gnus-group-unmark-all-groups
1769 Remove the mark from all groups (@code{gnus-group-unmark-all-groups}).
1773 @findex gnus-group-mark-region
1774 Mark all groups between point and mark (@code{gnus-group-mark-region}).
1778 @findex gnus-group-mark-buffer
1779 Mark all groups in the buffer (@code{gnus-group-mark-buffer}).
1783 @findex gnus-group-mark-regexp
1784 Mark all groups that match some regular expression
1785 (@code{gnus-group-mark-regexp}).
1788 Also @pxref{Process/Prefix}.
1790 @findex gnus-group-universal-argument
1791 If you want to execute some command on all groups that have been marked
1792 with the process mark, you can use the @kbd{M-&}
1793 (@code{gnus-group-universal-argument}) command. It will prompt you for
1794 the command to be executed.
1797 @node Foreign Groups
1798 @section Foreign Groups
1799 @cindex foreign groups
1801 Below are some group mode commands for making and editing general foreign
1802 groups, as well as commands to ease the creation of a few
1803 special-purpose groups. All these commands insert the newly created
1804 groups under point---@code{gnus-subscribe-newsgroup-method} is not
1811 @findex gnus-group-make-group
1812 @cindex making groups
1813 Make a new group (@code{gnus-group-make-group}). Gnus will prompt you
1814 for a name, a method and possibly an @dfn{address}. For an easier way
1815 to subscribe to @sc{nntp} groups, @pxref{Browse Foreign Server}.
1819 @findex gnus-group-rename-group
1820 @cindex renaming groups
1821 Rename the current group to something else
1822 (@code{gnus-group-rename-group}). This is valid only on some
1823 groups---mail groups mostly. This command might very well be quite slow
1829 @findex gnus-group-customize
1830 Customize the group parameters (@code{gnus-group-customize}).
1834 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-method
1835 @cindex renaming groups
1836 Enter a buffer where you can edit the select method of the current
1837 group (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-method}).
1841 @findex gnus-group-edit-group-parameters
1842 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group parameters
1843 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group-parameters}).
1847 @findex gnus-group-edit-group
1848 Enter a buffer where you can edit the group info
1849 (@code{gnus-group-edit-group}).
1853 @findex gnus-group-make-directory-group
1855 Make a directory group (@pxref{Directory Groups}). You will be prompted
1856 for a directory name (@code{gnus-group-make-directory-group}).
1861 @findex gnus-group-make-help-group
1862 Make the gnus help group (@code{gnus-group-make-help-group}).
1866 @cindex (ding) archive
1867 @cindex archive group
1868 @findex gnus-group-make-archive-group
1869 @vindex gnus-group-archive-directory
1870 @vindex gnus-group-recent-archive-directory
1871 Make a gnus archive group (@code{gnus-group-make-archive-group}). By
1872 default a group pointing to the most recent articles will be created
1873 (@code{gnus-group-recent-archive-directory}), but given a prefix, a full
1874 group will be created from @code{gnus-group-archive-directory}.
1878 @findex gnus-group-make-kiboze-group
1880 Make a kiboze group. You will be prompted for a name, for a regexp to
1881 match groups to be ``included'' in the kiboze group, and a series of
1882 strings to match on headers (@code{gnus-group-make-kiboze-group}).
1883 @xref{Kibozed Groups}.
1887 @findex gnus-group-enter-directory
1889 Read an arbitrary directory as if it were a newsgroup with the
1890 @code{nneething} backend (@code{gnus-group-enter-directory}).
1891 @xref{Anything Groups}.
1895 @findex gnus-group-make-doc-group
1896 @cindex ClariNet Briefs
1898 Make a group based on some file or other
1899 (@code{gnus-group-make-doc-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1900 command, you will be prompted for a file name and a file type.
1901 Currently supported types are @code{babyl}, @code{mbox}, @code{digest},
1902 @code{mmdf}, @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{clari-briefs},
1903 @code{rfc934}, @code{rfc822-forward}, and @code{forward}. If you run
1904 this command without a prefix, gnus will guess at the file type.
1905 @xref{Document Groups}.
1909 @findex gnus-group-make-web-group
1914 Make an ephemeral group based on a web search
1915 (@code{gnus-group-make-web-group}). If you give a prefix to this
1916 command, make a solid group instead. You will be prompted for the
1917 search engine type and the search string. Valid search engine types
1918 include @code{dejanews}, @code{altavista} and @code{reference}.
1919 @xref{Web Searches}.
1921 If you use the @code{dejanews} search engine, you can limit the search
1922 to a particular group by using a match string like
1923 @samp{~g alt.sysadmin.recovery shaving}.
1926 @kindex G DEL (Group)
1927 @findex gnus-group-delete-group
1928 This function will delete the current group
1929 (@code{gnus-group-delete-group}). If given a prefix, this function will
1930 actually delete all the articles in the group, and forcibly remove the
1931 group itself from the face of the Earth. Use a prefix only if you are
1932 absolutely sure of what you are doing. This command can't be used on
1933 read-only groups (like @code{nntp} group), though.
1937 @findex gnus-group-make-empty-virtual
1938 Make a new, fresh, empty @code{nnvirtual} group
1939 (@code{gnus-group-make-empty-virtual}). @xref{Virtual Groups}.
1943 @findex gnus-group-add-to-virtual
1944 Add the current group to an @code{nnvirtual} group
1945 (@code{gnus-group-add-to-virtual}). Uses the process/prefix convention.
1948 @xref{Select Methods} for more information on the various select
1951 @vindex gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups
1952 If @code{gnus-activate-foreign-newsgroups} is a positive number,
1953 gnus will check all foreign groups with this level or lower at startup.
1954 This might take quite a while, especially if you subscribe to lots of
1955 groups from different @sc{nntp} servers. Also @pxref{Group Levels};
1956 @code{gnus-activate-level} also affects activation of foreign
1960 @node Group Parameters
1961 @section Group Parameters
1962 @cindex group parameters
1964 The group parameters store information local to a particular group.
1965 Here's an example group parameter list:
1968 ((to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")
1972 We see that each element consists of a ``dotted pair''---the thing
1973 before the dot is the key, while the thing after the dot is the value.
1974 All the parameters have this form @emph{except} local variable specs,
1975 which are not dotted pairs, but proper lists.
1977 The following group parameters can be used:
1982 Address used by when doing followups and new posts.
1985 (to-address . "some@@where.com")
1988 This is primarily useful in mail groups that represent closed mailing
1989 lists---mailing lists where it's expected that everybody that writes to
1990 the mailing list is subscribed to it. Since using this parameter
1991 ensures that the mail only goes to the mailing list itself, it means
1992 that members won't receive two copies of your followups.
1994 Using @code{to-address} will actually work whether the group is foreign
1995 or not. Let's say there's a group on the server that is called
1996 @samp{fa.4ad-l}. This is a real newsgroup, but the server has gotten
1997 the articles from a mail-to-news gateway. Posting directly to this
1998 group is therefore impossible---you have to send mail to the mailing
1999 list address instead.
2003 Address used when doing a @kbd{a} in that group.
2006 (to-list . "some@@where.com")
2009 It is totally ignored
2010 when doing a followup---except that if it is present in a news group,
2011 you'll get mail group semantics when doing @kbd{f}.
2013 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you have neither a
2014 @code{to-list} group parameter nor a @code{to-address} group parameter,
2015 then a @code{to-list} group parameter will be added automatically upon
2016 sending the message if @code{gnus-add-to-list} is set to @code{t}.
2017 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
2019 If you do an @kbd{a} command in a mail group and you don't have a
2020 @code{to-list} group parameter, one will be added automatically upon
2021 sending the message.
2025 If the group parameter list has the element @code{(visible . t)},
2026 that group will always be visible in the Group buffer, regardless
2027 of whether it has any unread articles.
2029 @item broken-reply-to
2030 @cindex broken-reply-to
2031 Elements like @code{(broken-reply-to . t)} signals that @code{Reply-To}
2032 headers in this group are to be ignored. This can be useful if you're
2033 reading a mailing list group where the listserv has inserted
2034 @code{Reply-To} headers that point back to the listserv itself. This is
2035 broken behavior. So there!
2039 Elements like @code{(to-group . "some.group.name")} means that all
2040 posts in that group will be sent to @code{some.group.name}.
2044 If you have @code{(newsgroup . t)} in the group parameter list, gnus
2045 will treat all responses as if they were responses to news articles.
2046 This can be useful if you have a mail group that's really a mirror of a
2051 If @code{(gcc-self . t)} is present in the group parameter list, newly
2052 composed messages will be @code{Gcc}'d to the current group. If
2053 @code{(gcc-self . none)} is present, no @code{Gcc:} header will be
2054 generated, if @code{(gcc-self . "string")} is present, this string will
2055 be inserted literally as a @code{gcc} header. This parameter takes
2056 precedence over any default @code{Gcc} rules as described later
2057 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
2061 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(auto-expire
2062 . t)}, all articles read will be marked as expirable. For an
2063 alternative approach, @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
2066 @cindex total-expire
2067 If the group parameter has an element that looks like
2068 @code{(total-expire . t)}, all read articles will be put through the
2069 expiry process, even if they are not marked as expirable. Use with
2070 caution. Unread, ticked and dormant articles are not eligible for
2075 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
2076 If the group parameter has an element that looks like @code{(expiry-wait
2077 . 10)}, this value will override any @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} and
2078 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} when expiring expirable messages.
2079 The value can either be a number of days (not necessarily an integer) or
2080 the symbols @code{never} or @code{immediate}.
2083 @cindex score file group parameter
2084 Elements that look like @code{(score-file . "file")} will make
2085 @file{file} into the current score file for the group in question. All
2086 interactive score entries will be put into this file.
2089 @cindex adapt file group parameter
2090 Elements that look like @code{(adapt-file . "file")} will make
2091 @file{file} into the current adaptive file for the group in question.
2092 All adaptive score entries will be put into this file.
2095 When unsubscribing from a mailing list you should never send the
2096 unsubscription notice to the mailing list itself. Instead, you'd send
2097 messages to the administrative address. This parameter allows you to
2098 put the admin address somewhere convenient.
2101 Elements that look like @code{(display . MODE)} say which articles to
2102 display on entering the group. Valid values are:
2106 Display all articles, both read and unread.
2109 Display the default visible articles, which normally includes unread and
2114 Elements that look like @code{(comment . "This is a comment")} are
2115 arbitrary comments on the group. They are currently ignored by gnus,
2116 but provide a place for you to store information on particular groups.
2118 @item @var{(variable form)}
2119 You can use the group parameters to set variables local to the group you
2120 are entering. If you want to turn threading off in @samp{news.answers},
2121 you could put @code{(gnus-show-threads nil)} in the group parameters of
2122 that group. @code{gnus-show-threads} will be made into a local variable
2123 in the summary buffer you enter, and the form @code{nil} will be
2124 @code{eval}ed there.
2126 This can also be used as a group-specific hook function, if you'd like.
2127 If you want to hear a beep when you enter a group, you could put
2128 something like @code{(dummy-variable (ding))} in the parameters of that
2129 group. @code{dummy-variable} will be set to the result of the
2130 @code{(ding)} form, but who cares?
2134 Use the @kbd{G p} command to edit group parameters of a group. You
2135 might also be interested in reading about topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
2139 @node Listing Groups
2140 @section Listing Groups
2141 @cindex group listing
2143 These commands all list various slices of the groups available.
2151 @findex gnus-group-list-groups
2152 List all groups that have unread articles
2153 (@code{gnus-group-list-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used, this
2154 command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default, it
2155 only lists groups of level five (i. e.,
2156 @code{gnus-group-default-list-level}) or lower (i.e., just subscribed
2163 @findex gnus-group-list-all-groups
2164 List all groups, whether they have unread articles or not
2165 (@code{gnus-group-list-all-groups}). If the numeric prefix is used,
2166 this command will list only groups of level ARG and lower. By default,
2167 it lists groups of level seven or lower (i.e., just subscribed and
2168 unsubscribed groups).
2172 @findex gnus-group-list-level
2173 List all unread groups on a specific level
2174 (@code{gnus-group-list-level}). If given a prefix, also list the groups
2175 with no unread articles.
2179 @findex gnus-group-list-killed
2180 List all killed groups (@code{gnus-group-list-killed}). If given a
2181 prefix argument, really list all groups that are available, but aren't
2182 currently (un)subscribed. This could entail reading the active file
2187 @findex gnus-group-list-zombies
2188 List all zombie groups (@code{gnus-group-list-zombies}).
2192 @findex gnus-group-list-matching
2193 List all unread, subscribed groups with names that match a regexp
2194 (@code{gnus-group-list-matching}).
2198 @findex gnus-group-list-all-matching
2199 List groups that match a regexp (@code{gnus-group-list-all-matching}).
2203 @findex gnus-group-list-active
2204 List absolutely all groups in the active file(s) of the
2205 server(s) you are connected to (@code{gnus-group-list-active}). This
2206 might very well take quite a while. It might actually be a better idea
2207 to do a @kbd{A M} to list all matching, and just give @samp{.} as the
2208 thing to match on. Also note that this command may list groups that
2209 don't exist (yet)---these will be listed as if they were killed groups.
2210 Take the output with some grains of salt.
2214 @findex gnus-group-apropos
2215 List all groups that have names that match a regexp
2216 (@code{gnus-group-apropos}).
2220 @findex gnus-group-description-apropos
2221 List all groups that have names or descriptions that match a regexp
2222 (@code{gnus-group-description-apropos}).
2226 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2227 @cindex visible group parameter
2228 Groups that match the @code{gnus-permanently-visible-groups} regexp will
2229 always be shown, whether they have unread articles or not. You can also
2230 add the @code{visible} element to the group parameters in question to
2231 get the same effect.
2233 @vindex gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles
2234 Groups that have just ticked articles in it are normally listed in the
2235 group buffer. If @code{gnus-list-groups-with-ticked-articles} is
2236 @code{nil}, these groups will be treated just like totally empty
2237 groups. It is @code{t} by default.
2240 @node Sorting Groups
2241 @section Sorting Groups
2242 @cindex sorting groups
2244 @kindex C-c C-s (Group)
2245 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups
2246 @vindex gnus-group-sort-function
2247 The @kbd{C-c C-s} (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups}) command sorts the
2248 group buffer according to the function(s) given by the
2249 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} variable. Available sorting functions
2254 @item gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2255 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-alphabet
2256 Sort the group names alphabetically. This is the default.
2258 @item gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2259 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-real-name
2260 Sort the group alphabetically on the real (unprefixed) group names.
2262 @item gnus-group-sort-by-level
2263 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-level
2264 Sort by group level.
2266 @item gnus-group-sort-by-score
2267 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-score
2268 Sort by group score. @xref{Group Score}.
2270 @item gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2271 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-rank
2272 Sort by group score and then the group level. The level and the score
2273 are, when taken together, the group's @dfn{rank}. @xref{Group Score}.
2275 @item gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2276 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-unread
2277 Sort by number of unread articles.
2279 @item gnus-group-sort-by-method
2280 @findex gnus-group-sort-by-method
2281 Sort alphabetically on the select method.
2286 @code{gnus-group-sort-function} can also be a list of sorting
2287 functions. In that case, the most significant sort key function must be
2291 There are also a number of commands for sorting directly according to
2292 some sorting criteria:
2296 @kindex G S a (Group)
2297 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2298 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by group name
2299 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2302 @kindex G S u (Group)
2303 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread
2304 Sort the group buffer by the number of unread articles
2305 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2308 @kindex G S l (Group)
2309 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level
2310 Sort the group buffer by group level
2311 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-level}).
2314 @kindex G S v (Group)
2315 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score
2316 Sort the group buffer by group score
2317 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2320 @kindex G S r (Group)
2321 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank
2322 Sort the group buffer by group rank
2323 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2326 @kindex G S m (Group)
2327 @findex gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method
2328 Sort the group buffer alphabetically by backend name
2329 (@code{gnus-group-sort-groups-by-method}).
2333 When given a prefix, all these commands will sort in reverse order.
2335 You can also sort a subset of the groups:
2339 @kindex G P a (Group)
2340 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet
2341 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2342 group name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-alphabet}).
2345 @kindex G P u (Group)
2346 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread
2347 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by the number of
2348 unread articles (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-unread}).
2351 @kindex G P l (Group)
2352 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level
2353 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group level
2354 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-level}).
2357 @kindex G P v (Group)
2358 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score
2359 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group score
2360 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2363 @kindex G P r (Group)
2364 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank
2365 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer by group rank
2366 (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2369 @kindex G P m (Group)
2370 @findex gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method
2371 Sort the process/prefixed groups in the group buffer alphabetically by
2372 backend name (@code{gnus-group-sort-selected-groups-by-method}).
2378 @node Group Maintenance
2379 @section Group Maintenance
2380 @cindex bogus groups
2385 @findex gnus-group-check-bogus-groups
2386 Find bogus groups and delete them
2387 (@code{gnus-group-check-bogus-groups}).
2391 @findex gnus-group-find-new-groups
2392 Find new groups and process them (@code{gnus-group-find-new-groups}).
2393 With 1 @kbd{C-u}, use the @code{ask-server} method to query the server
2394 for new groups. With 2 @kbd{C-u}'s, use most complete method possible
2395 to query the server for new groups, and subscribe the new groups as
2399 @kindex C-c C-x (Group)
2400 @findex gnus-group-expire-articles
2401 Run all expirable articles in the current group through the expiry
2402 process (if any) (@code{gnus-group-expire-articles}).
2405 @kindex C-c M-C-x (Group)
2406 @findex gnus-group-expire-all-groups
2407 Run all articles in all groups through the expiry process
2408 (@code{gnus-group-expire-all-groups}).
2413 @node Browse Foreign Server
2414 @section Browse Foreign Server
2415 @cindex foreign servers
2416 @cindex browsing servers
2421 @findex gnus-group-browse-foreign-server
2422 You will be queried for a select method and a server name. Gnus will
2423 then attempt to contact this server and let you browse the groups there
2424 (@code{gnus-group-browse-foreign-server}).
2427 @findex gnus-browse-mode
2428 A new buffer with a list of available groups will appear. This buffer
2429 will use the @code{gnus-browse-mode}. This buffer looks a bit (well,
2430 a lot) like a normal group buffer.
2432 Here's a list of keystrokes available in the browse mode:
2437 @findex gnus-group-next-group
2438 Go to the next group (@code{gnus-group-next-group}).
2442 @findex gnus-group-prev-group
2443 Go to the previous group (@code{gnus-group-prev-group}).
2446 @kindex SPACE (Browse)
2447 @findex gnus-browse-read-group
2448 Enter the current group and display the first article
2449 (@code{gnus-browse-read-group}).
2452 @kindex RET (Browse)
2453 @findex gnus-browse-select-group
2454 Enter the current group (@code{gnus-browse-select-group}).
2458 @findex gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group
2459 Unsubscribe to the current group, or, as will be the case here,
2460 subscribe to it (@code{gnus-browse-unsubscribe-current-group}).
2466 @findex gnus-browse-exit
2467 Exit browse mode (@code{gnus-browse-exit}).
2471 @findex gnus-browse-describe-briefly
2472 Describe browse mode briefly (well, there's not much to describe, is
2473 there) (@code{gnus-browse-describe-briefly}).
2478 @section Exiting gnus
2479 @cindex exiting gnus
2481 Yes, gnus is ex(c)iting.
2486 @findex gnus-group-suspend
2487 Suspend gnus (@code{gnus-group-suspend}). This doesn't really exit
2488 gnus, but it kills all buffers except the Group buffer. I'm not sure
2489 why this is a gain, but then who am I to judge?
2493 @findex gnus-group-exit
2494 @c @icon{gnus-group-exit}
2495 Quit gnus (@code{gnus-group-exit}).
2499 @findex gnus-group-quit
2500 Quit gnus without saving the @file{.newsrc} files
2501 (@code{gnus-group-quit}). The dribble file will be saved, though
2502 (@pxref{Auto Save}).
2505 @vindex gnus-exit-gnus-hook
2506 @vindex gnus-suspend-gnus-hook
2507 @code{gnus-suspend-gnus-hook} is called when you suspend gnus and
2508 @code{gnus-exit-gnus-hook} is called when you quit gnus, while
2509 @code{gnus-after-exiting-gnus-hook} is called as the final item when
2514 If you wish to completely unload gnus and all its adherents, you can use
2515 the @code{gnus-unload} command. This command is also very handy when
2516 trying to customize meta-variables.
2521 Miss Lisa Cannifax, while sitting in English class, felt her feet go
2522 numbly heavy and herself fall into a hazy trance as the boy sitting
2523 behind her drew repeated lines with his pencil across the back of her
2529 @section Group Topics
2532 If you read lots and lots of groups, it might be convenient to group
2533 them hierarchically according to topics. You put your Emacs groups over
2534 here, your sex groups over there, and the rest (what, two groups or so?)
2535 you put in some misc section that you never bother with anyway. You can
2536 even group the Emacs sex groups as a sub-topic to either the Emacs
2537 groups or the sex groups---or both! Go wild!
2541 \gnusfigure{Group Topics}{400}{
2542 \put(75,50){\epsfig{figure=tmp/group-topic.ps,height=9cm}}
2553 2: alt.religion.emacs
2556 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2558 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2559 13: comp.sources.unix
2562 @findex gnus-topic-mode
2564 To get this @emph{fab} functionality you simply turn on (ooh!) the
2565 @code{gnus-topic} minor mode---type @kbd{t} in the group buffer. (This
2566 is a toggling command.)
2568 Go ahead, just try it. I'll still be here when you get back. La de
2569 dum... Nice tune, that... la la la... What, you're back? Yes, and now
2570 press @kbd{l}. There. All your groups are now listed under
2571 @samp{misc}. Doesn't that make you feel all warm and fuzzy? Hot and
2574 If you want this permanently enabled, you should add that minor mode to
2575 the hook for the group mode:
2578 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
2582 * Topic Variables:: How to customize the topics the Lisp Way.
2583 * Topic Commands:: Interactive E-Z commands.
2584 * Topic Sorting:: Sorting each topic individually.
2585 * Topic Topology:: A map of the world.
2586 * Topic Parameters:: Parameters that apply to all groups in a topic.
2590 @node Topic Variables
2591 @subsection Topic Variables
2592 @cindex topic variables
2594 Now, if you select a topic, it will fold/unfold that topic, which is
2595 really neat, I think.
2597 @vindex gnus-topic-line-format
2598 The topic lines themselves are created according to the
2599 @code{gnus-topic-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
2612 Number of groups in the topic.
2614 Number of unread articles in the topic.
2616 Number of unread articles in the topic and all its subtopics.
2619 @vindex gnus-topic-indent-level
2620 Each sub-topic (and the groups in the sub-topics) will be indented with
2621 @code{gnus-topic-indent-level} times the topic level number of spaces.
2624 @vindex gnus-topic-mode-hook
2625 @code{gnus-topic-mode-hook} is called in topic minor mode buffers.
2627 @vindex gnus-topic-display-empty-topics
2628 The @code{gnus-topic-display-empty-topics} says whether to display even
2629 topics that have no unread articles in them. The default is @code{t}.
2632 @node Topic Commands
2633 @subsection Topic Commands
2634 @cindex topic commands
2636 When the topic minor mode is turned on, a new @kbd{T} submap will be
2637 available. In addition, a few of the standard keys change their
2638 definitions slightly.
2644 @findex gnus-topic-create-topic
2645 Prompt for a new topic name and create it
2646 (@code{gnus-topic-create-topic}).
2650 @findex gnus-topic-move-group
2651 Move the current group to some other topic
2652 (@code{gnus-topic-move-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2653 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2657 @findex gnus-topic-copy-group
2658 Copy the current group to some other topic
2659 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-group}). This command uses the process/prefix
2660 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2664 @findex gnus-topic-remove-group
2665 Remove a group from the current topic (@code{gnus-topic-remove-group}).
2666 This command is mainly useful if you have the same group in several
2667 topics and wish to remove it from one of the topics. You may also
2668 remove a group from all topics, but in that case, Gnus will add it to
2669 the root topic the next time you start Gnus. In fact, all new groups
2670 (which, naturally, don't belong to any topic) will show up in the root
2673 This command uses the process/prefix convention
2674 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
2678 @findex gnus-topic-move-matching
2679 Move all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2680 (@code{gnus-topic-move-matching}).
2684 @findex gnus-topic-copy-matching
2685 Copy all groups that match some regular expression to a topic
2686 (@code{gnus-topic-copy-matching}).
2690 @findex gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics
2691 Toggle hiding empty topics
2692 (@code{gnus-topic-toggle-display-empty-topics}).
2696 @findex gnus-topic-mark-topic
2697 Mark all groups in the current topic with the process mark
2698 (@code{gnus-topic-mark-topic}).
2701 @kindex T M-# (Topic)
2702 @findex gnus-topic-unmark-topic
2703 Remove the process mark from all groups in the current topic
2704 (@code{gnus-topic-unmark-topic}).
2708 @findex gnus-topic-select-group
2710 Either select a group or fold a topic (@code{gnus-topic-select-group}).
2711 When you perform this command on a group, you'll enter the group, as
2712 usual. When done on a topic line, the topic will be folded (if it was
2713 visible) or unfolded (if it was folded already). So it's basically a
2714 toggling command on topics. In addition, if you give a numerical
2715 prefix, group on that level (and lower) will be displayed.
2719 @kindex T TAB (Topic)
2721 @findex gnus-topic-indent
2722 ``Indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2723 previous topic (@code{gnus-topic-indent}). If given a prefix,
2724 ``un-indent'' the topic instead.
2727 @kindex M-TAB (Topic)
2728 @findex gnus-topic-unindent
2729 ``Un-indent'' the current topic so that it becomes a sub-topic of the
2730 parent of its current parent (@code{gnus-topic-unindent}).
2734 @findex gnus-topic-kill-group
2735 Kill a group or topic (@code{gnus-topic-kill-group}). All groups in the
2736 topic will be removed along with the topic.
2740 @findex gnus-topic-yank-group
2741 Yank the previously killed group or topic
2742 (@code{gnus-topic-yank-group}). Note that all topics will be yanked
2747 @findex gnus-topic-rename
2748 Rename a topic (@code{gnus-topic-rename}).
2751 @kindex T DEL (Topic)
2752 @findex gnus-topic-delete
2753 Delete an empty topic (@code{gnus-topic-delete}).
2757 @findex gnus-topic-list-active
2758 List all groups that gnus knows about in a topics-ified way
2759 (@code{gnus-topic-list-active}).
2763 @findex gnus-topic-edit-parameters
2764 @cindex group parameters
2765 @cindex topic parameters
2767 Edit the topic parameters (@code{gnus-topic-edit-parameters}).
2768 @xref{Topic Parameters}.
2774 @subsection Topic Sorting
2775 @cindex topic sorting
2777 You can sort the groups in each topic individually with the following
2783 @kindex T S a (Topic)
2784 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet
2785 Sort the current topic alphabetically by group name
2786 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-alphabet}).
2789 @kindex T S u (Topic)
2790 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread
2791 Sort the current topic by the number of unread articles
2792 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-unread}).
2795 @kindex T S l (Topic)
2796 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level
2797 Sort the current topic by group level
2798 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-level}).
2801 @kindex T S v (Topic)
2802 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score
2803 Sort the current topic by group score
2804 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-score}). @xref{Group Score}.
2807 @kindex T S r (Topic)
2808 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank
2809 Sort the current topic by group rank
2810 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-rank}). @xref{Group Score}.
2813 @kindex T S m (Topic)
2814 @findex gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method
2815 Sort the current topic alphabetically by backend name
2816 (@code{gnus-topic-sort-groups-by-method}).
2820 @xref{Sorting Groups} for more information about group sorting.
2823 @node Topic Topology
2824 @subsection Topic Topology
2825 @cindex topic topology
2828 So, let's have a look at an example group buffer:
2834 2: alt.religion.emacs
2837 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2839 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2840 13: comp.sources.unix
2843 So, here we have one top-level topic (@samp{Gnus}), two topics under
2844 that, and one sub-topic under one of the sub-topics. (There is always
2845 just one (1) top-level topic). This topology can be expressed as
2850 (("Emacs -- I wuw it!" visible)
2851 (("Naughty Emacs" visible)))
2855 @vindex gnus-topic-topology
2856 This is in fact how the variable @code{gnus-topic-topology} would look
2857 for the display above. That variable is saved in the @file{.newsrc.eld}
2858 file, and shouldn't be messed with manually---unless you really want
2859 to. Since this variable is read from the @file{.newsrc.eld} file,
2860 setting it in any other startup files will have no effect.
2862 This topology shows what topics are sub-topics of what topics (right),
2863 and which topics are visible. Two settings are currently
2864 allowed---@code{visible} and @code{invisible}.
2867 @node Topic Parameters
2868 @subsection Topic Parameters
2869 @cindex topic parameters
2871 All groups in a topic will inherit group parameters from the parent (and
2872 ancestor) topic parameters. All valid group parameters are valid topic
2873 parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
2875 Group parameters (of course) override topic parameters, and topic
2876 parameters in sub-topics override topic parameters in super-topics. You
2877 know. Normal inheritance rules. (@dfn{Rules} is here a noun, not a
2878 verb, although you may feel free to disagree with me here.)
2884 2: alt.religion.emacs
2888 0: comp.talk.emacs.recovery
2890 8: comp.binaries.fractals
2891 13: comp.sources.unix
2895 The @samp{Emacs} topic has the topic parameter @code{(score-file
2896 . "emacs.SCORE")}; the @samp{Relief} topic has the topic parameter
2897 @code{(score-file . "relief.SCORE")}; and the @samp{Misc} topic has the
2898 topic parameter @code{(score-file . "emacs.SCORE")}. In addition,
2899 @samp{alt.religion.emacs} has the group parameter @code{(score-file
2900 . "religion.SCORE")}.
2902 Now, when you enter @samp{alt.sex.emacs} in the @samp{Relief} topic, you
2903 will get the @file{relief.SCORE} home score file. If you enter the same
2904 group in the @samp{Emacs} topic, you'll get the @file{emacs.SCORE} home
2905 score file. If you enter the group @samp{alt.religion.emacs}, you'll
2906 get the @file{religion.SCORE} home score file.
2908 This seems rather simple and self-evident, doesn't it? Well, yes. But
2909 there are some problems, especially with the @code{total-expiry}
2910 parameter. Say you have a mail group in two topics; one with
2911 @code{total-expiry} and one without. What happens when you do @kbd{M-x
2912 gnus-expire-all-expirable-groups}? Gnus has no way of telling which one
2913 of these topics you mean to expire articles from, so anything may
2914 happen. In fact, I hereby declare that it is @dfn{undefined} what
2915 happens. You just have to be careful if you do stuff like that.
2918 @node Misc Group Stuff
2919 @section Misc Group Stuff
2922 * Scanning New Messages:: Asking gnus to see whether new messages have arrived.
2923 * Group Information:: Information and help on groups and gnus.
2924 * Group Timestamp:: Making gnus keep track of when you last read a group.
2925 * File Commands:: Reading and writing the gnus files.
2932 @findex gnus-group-enter-server-mode
2933 Enter the server buffer (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}).
2934 @xref{The Server Buffer}.
2938 @findex gnus-group-post-news
2939 Post an article to a group (@code{gnus-group-post-news}). If given a
2940 prefix, the current group name will be used as the default.
2944 @findex gnus-group-mail
2945 Mail a message somewhere (@code{gnus-group-mail}).
2949 Variables for the group buffer:
2953 @item gnus-group-mode-hook
2954 @vindex gnus-group-mode-hook
2955 is called after the group buffer has been
2958 @item gnus-group-prepare-hook
2959 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2960 is called after the group buffer is
2961 generated. It may be used to modify the buffer in some strange,
2964 @item gnus-group-prepared-hook
2965 @vindex gnus-group-prepare-hook
2966 is called as the very last thing after the group buffer has been
2967 generated. It may be used to move point around, for instance.
2969 @item gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2970 @vindex gnus-permanently-visible-groups
2971 Groups matching this regexp will always be listed in the group buffer,
2972 whether they are empty or not.
2977 @node Scanning New Messages
2978 @subsection Scanning New Messages
2979 @cindex new messages
2980 @cindex scanning new news
2986 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news
2987 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news}
2988 Check the server(s) for new articles. If the numerical prefix is used,
2989 this command will check only groups of level @var{arg} and lower
2990 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news}). If given a non-numerical prefix, this
2991 command will force a total re-reading of the active file(s) from the
2996 @findex gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group
2997 @vindex gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating
2998 @c @icon{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}
2999 Check whether new articles have arrived in the current group
3000 (@code{gnus-group-get-new-news-this-group}).
3001 @code{gnus-goto-next-group-when-activating} says whether this command is
3002 to move point to the next group or not. It is @code{t} by default.
3004 @findex gnus-activate-all-groups
3005 @cindex activating groups
3007 @kindex C-c M-g (Group)
3008 Activate absolutely all groups (@code{gnus-activate-all-groups}).
3013 @findex gnus-group-restart
3014 Restart gnus (@code{gnus-group-restart}). This saves the @file{.newsrc}
3015 file(s), closes the connection to all servers, clears up all run-time
3016 gnus variables, and then starts gnus all over again.
3020 @vindex gnus-get-new-news-hook
3021 @code{gnus-get-new-news-hook} is run just before checking for new news.
3023 @vindex gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook
3024 @code{gnus-after-getting-new-news-hook} is run after checking for new
3028 @node Group Information
3029 @subsection Group Information
3030 @cindex group information
3031 @cindex information on groups
3038 @findex gnus-group-fetch-faq
3039 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
3042 Try to fetch the FAQ for the current group
3043 (@code{gnus-group-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the FAQ from
3044 @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory on a
3045 remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories. In
3046 that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
3047 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} (or @code{efs}) will be used
3048 for fetching the file.
3050 If fetching from the first site is unsuccessful, gnus will attempt to go
3051 through @code{gnus-group-faq-directory} and try to open them one by one.
3055 @c @icon{gnus-group-describe-group}
3057 @kindex C-c C-d (Group)
3058 @cindex describing groups
3059 @cindex group description
3060 @findex gnus-group-describe-group
3061 Describe the current group (@code{gnus-group-describe-group}). If given
3062 a prefix, force Gnus to re-read the description from the server.
3066 @findex gnus-group-describe-all-groups
3067 Describe all groups (@code{gnus-group-describe-all-groups}). If given a
3068 prefix, force gnus to re-read the description file from the server.
3075 @findex gnus-version
3076 Display current gnus version numbers (@code{gnus-version}).
3080 @findex gnus-group-describe-briefly
3081 Give a very short help message (@code{gnus-group-describe-briefly}).
3084 @kindex C-c C-i (Group)
3087 @findex gnus-info-find-node
3088 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
3092 @node Group Timestamp
3093 @subsection Group Timestamp
3095 @cindex group timestamps
3097 It can be convenient to let gnus keep track of when you last read a
3098 group. To set the ball rolling, you should add
3099 @code{gnus-group-set-timestamp} to @code{gnus-select-group-hook}:
3102 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook 'gnus-group-set-timestamp)
3105 After doing this, each time you enter a group, it'll be recorded.
3107 This information can be displayed in various ways---the easiest is to
3108 use the @samp{%d} spec in the group line format:
3111 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3112 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %d\n")
3115 This will result in lines looking like:
3118 * 0: mail.ding 19961002T012943
3119 0: custom 19961002T012713
3122 As you can see, the date is displayed in compact ISO 8601 format. This
3123 may be a bit too much, so to just display the date, you could say
3127 (setq gnus-group-line-format
3128 "%M\%S\%p\%P\%5y: %(%-40,40g%) %6,6~(cut 2)d\n")
3133 @subsection File Commands
3134 @cindex file commands
3140 @findex gnus-group-read-init-file
3141 @vindex gnus-init-file
3142 @cindex reading init file
3143 Re-read the init file (@code{gnus-init-file}, which defaults to
3144 @file{~/.gnus}) (@code{gnus-group-read-init-file}).
3148 @findex gnus-group-save-newsrc
3149 @cindex saving .newsrc
3150 Save the @file{.newsrc.eld} file (and @file{.newsrc} if wanted)
3151 (@code{gnus-group-save-newsrc}). If given a prefix, force saving the
3152 file(s) whether Gnus thinks it is necessary or not.
3155 @c @kindex Z (Group)
3156 @c @findex gnus-group-clear-dribble
3157 @c Clear the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-group-clear-dribble}).
3162 @node The Summary Buffer
3163 @chapter The Summary Buffer
3164 @cindex summary buffer
3166 A line for each article is displayed in the summary buffer. You can
3167 move around, read articles, post articles and reply to articles.
3169 The most common way to a summary buffer is to select a group from the
3170 group buffer (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
3172 You can have as many summary buffers open as you wish.
3175 * Summary Buffer Format:: Deciding how the summary buffer is to look.
3176 * Summary Maneuvering:: Moving around the summary buffer.
3177 * Choosing Articles:: Reading articles.
3178 * Paging the Article:: Scrolling the current article.
3179 * Reply Followup and Post:: Posting articles.
3180 * Canceling and Superseding:: ``Whoops, I shouldn't have called him that.''
3181 * Marking Articles:: Marking articles as read, expirable, etc.
3182 * Limiting:: You can limit the summary buffer.
3183 * Threading:: How threads are made.
3184 * Sorting:: How articles and threads are sorted.
3185 * Asynchronous Fetching:: Gnus might be able to pre-fetch articles.
3186 * Article Caching:: You may store articles in a cache.
3187 * Persistent Articles:: Making articles expiry-resistant.
3188 * Article Backlog:: Having already read articles hang around.
3189 * Saving Articles:: Ways of customizing article saving.
3190 * Decoding Articles:: Gnus can treat series of (uu)encoded articles.
3191 * Article Treatment:: The article buffer can be mangled at will.
3192 * Article Commands:: Doing various things with the article buffer.
3193 * Summary Sorting:: Sorting the summary buffer in various ways.
3194 * Finding the Parent:: No child support? Get the parent.
3195 * Alternative Approaches:: Reading using non-default summaries.
3196 * Tree Display:: A more visual display of threads.
3197 * Mail Group Commands:: Some commands can only be used in mail groups.
3198 * Various Summary Stuff:: What didn't fit anywhere else.
3199 * Exiting the Summary Buffer:: Returning to the Group buffer.
3200 * Crosspost Handling:: How crossposted articles are dealt with.
3201 * Duplicate Suppression:: An alternative when crosspost handling fails.
3205 @node Summary Buffer Format
3206 @section Summary Buffer Format
3207 @cindex summary buffer format
3211 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{180}{
3212 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary.ps,width=7.5cm}}
3213 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-article.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
3219 * Summary Buffer Lines:: You can specify how summary lines should look.
3220 * Summary Buffer Mode Line:: You can say how the mode line should look.
3221 * Summary Highlighting:: Making the summary buffer all pretty and nice.
3224 @findex mail-extract-address-components
3225 @findex gnus-extract-address-components
3226 @vindex gnus-extract-address-components
3227 Gnus will use the value of the @code{gnus-extract-address-components}
3228 variable as a function for getting the name and address parts of a
3229 @code{From} header. Three pre-defined functions exist:
3230 @code{gnus-extract-address-components}, which is the default, quite
3231 fast, and too simplistic solution;
3232 @code{mail-extract-address-components}, which works nicely, but is
3233 slower; and @code{std11-extract-address-components}, which works very
3234 nicely, but is slower. The default function will return the wrong
3235 answer in 5% of the cases. If this is unacceptable to you, use the
3236 other function instead.
3238 @vindex gnus-summary-same-subject
3239 @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} is a string indicating that the current
3240 article has the same subject as the previous. This string will be used
3241 with those specs that require it. The default is @code{""}.
3244 @node Summary Buffer Lines
3245 @subsection Summary Buffer Lines
3247 @vindex gnus-summary-line-format
3248 You can change the format of the lines in the summary buffer by changing
3249 the @code{gnus-summary-line-format} variable. It works along the same
3250 lines as a normal @code{format} string, with some extensions
3251 (@pxref{Formatting Variables}).
3253 The default string is @samp{%U%R%z%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%) %s\n}.
3255 The following format specification characters are understood:
3263 Subject if the article is the root of the thread or the previous article
3264 had a different subject, @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} otherwise.
3265 (@code{gnus-summary-same-subject} defaults to @code{""}.)
3267 Full @code{From} header.
3269 The name (from the @code{From} header).
3271 The name (from the @code{From} header). This differs from the @code{n}
3272 spec in that it uses the function designated by the
3273 @code{gnus-extract-address-components} variable, which is slower, but
3274 may be more thorough.
3276 The address (from the @code{From} header). This works the same way as
3279 Number of lines in the article.
3281 Number of characters in the article.
3283 Indentation based on thread level (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3285 Nothing if the article is a root and lots of spaces if it isn't (it
3286 pushes everything after it off the screen).
3288 Opening bracket, which is normally @samp{[}, but can also be @samp{<}
3289 for adopted articles (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
3291 Closing bracket, which is normally @samp{]}, but can also be @samp{>}
3292 for adopted articles.
3294 One space for each thread level.
3296 Twenty minus thread level spaces.
3301 This misleadingly named specifier is the @dfn{secondary mark}. This
3302 mark will say whether the article has been replied to, has been cached,
3306 Score as a number (@pxref{Scoring}).
3308 @vindex gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz
3309 Zcore, @samp{+} if above the default level and @samp{-} if below the
3310 default level. If the difference between
3311 @code{gnus-summary-default-score} and the score is less than
3312 @code{gnus-summary-zcore-fuzz}, this spec will not be used.
3320 The @code{Date} in @code{DD-MMM} format.
3322 The @code{Date} in @var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS} format.
3328 Number of articles in the current sub-thread. Using this spec will slow
3329 down summary buffer generation somewhat.
3331 An @samp{=} (@code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark}) will be displayed if the
3332 article has any children.
3338 User defined specifier. The next character in the format string should
3339 be a letter. Gnus will call the function
3340 @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where @samp{X} is the letter
3341 following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed the current header as
3342 argument. The function should return a string, which will be inserted
3343 into the summary just like information from any other summary specifier.
3346 The @samp{%U} (status), @samp{%R} (replied) and @samp{%z} (zcore) specs
3347 have to be handled with care. For reasons of efficiency, gnus will
3348 compute what column these characters will end up in, and ``hard-code''
3349 that. This means that it is invalid to have these specs after a
3350 variable-length spec. Well, you might not be arrested, but your summary
3351 buffer will look strange, which is bad enough.
3353 The smart choice is to have these specs as far to the left as possible.
3354 (Isn't that the case with everything, though? But I digress.)
3356 This restriction may disappear in later versions of gnus.
3359 @node Summary Buffer Mode Line
3360 @subsection Summary Buffer Mode Line
3362 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-line-format
3363 You can also change the format of the summary mode bar (@pxref{Mode Line
3364 Formatting}). Set @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} to whatever you
3365 like. The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b [%A] %Z}.
3367 Here are the elements you can play with:
3373 Unprefixed group name.
3375 Current article number.
3377 Current article score.
3381 Number of unread articles in this group.
3383 Number of unread articles in this group that aren't displayed in the
3386 A string with the number of unread and unselected articles represented
3387 either as @samp{<%U(+%e) more>} if there are both unread and unselected
3388 articles, and just as @samp{<%U more>} if there are just unread articles
3389 and no unselected ones.
3391 Shortish group name. For instance, @samp{rec.arts.anime} will be
3392 shortened to @samp{r.a.anime}.
3394 Subject of the current article.
3396 User-defined spec (@pxref{User-Defined Specs}).
3398 Name of the current score file (@pxref{Scoring}).
3400 Number of dormant articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3402 Number of ticked articles (@pxref{Unread Articles}).
3404 Number of articles that have been marked as read in this session.
3406 Number of articles expunged by the score files.
3410 @node Summary Highlighting
3411 @subsection Summary Highlighting
3415 @item gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3416 @vindex gnus-visual-mark-article-hook
3417 This hook is run after selecting an article. It is meant to be used for
3418 highlighting the article in some way. It is not run if
3419 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3421 @item gnus-summary-update-hook
3422 @vindex gnus-summary-update-hook
3423 This hook is called when a summary line is changed. It is not run if
3424 @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
3426 @item gnus-summary-selected-face
3427 @vindex gnus-summary-selected-face
3428 This is the face (or @dfn{font} as some people call it) used to
3429 highlight the current article in the summary buffer.
3431 @item gnus-summary-highlight
3432 @vindex gnus-summary-highlight
3433 Summary lines are highlighted according to this variable, which is a
3434 list where the elements are of the format @var{(FORM . FACE)}. If you
3435 would, for instance, like ticked articles to be italic and high-scored
3436 articles to be bold, you could set this variable to something like
3438 (((eq mark gnus-ticked-mark) . italic)
3439 ((> score default) . bold))
3441 As you may have guessed, if @var{FORM} returns a non-@code{nil} value,
3442 @var{FACE} will be applied to the line.
3446 @node Summary Maneuvering
3447 @section Summary Maneuvering
3448 @cindex summary movement
3450 All the straight movement commands understand the numeric prefix and
3451 behave pretty much as you'd expect.
3453 None of these commands select articles.
3458 @kindex M-n (Summary)
3459 @kindex G M-n (Summary)
3460 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-subject
3461 Go to the next summary line of an unread article
3462 (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-subject}).
3466 @kindex M-p (Summary)
3467 @kindex G M-p (Summary)
3468 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject
3469 Go to the previous summary line of an unread article
3470 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-subject}).
3475 @kindex G j (Summary)
3476 @findex gnus-summary-goto-article
3477 Ask for an article number or @code{Message-ID}, and then go to that
3478 article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-article}).
3481 @kindex G g (Summary)
3482 @findex gnus-summary-goto-subject
3483 Ask for an article number and then go to the summary line of that article
3484 without displaying the article (@code{gnus-summary-goto-subject}).
3487 If gnus asks you to press a key to confirm going to the next group, you
3488 can use the @kbd{C-n} and @kbd{C-p} keys to move around the group
3489 buffer, searching for the next group to read without actually returning
3490 to the group buffer.
3492 Variables related to summary movement:
3496 @vindex gnus-auto-select-next
3497 @item gnus-auto-select-next
3498 If you issue one of the movement commands (like @kbd{n}) and there are
3499 no more unread articles after the current one, gnus will offer to go to
3500 the next group. If this variable is @code{t} and the next group is
3501 empty, gnus will exit summary mode and return to the group buffer. If
3502 this variable is neither @code{t} nor @code{nil}, gnus will select the
3503 next group, no matter whether it has any unread articles or not. As a
3504 special case, if this variable is @code{quietly}, gnus will select the
3505 next group without asking for confirmation. If this variable is
3506 @code{almost-quietly}, the same will happen only if you are located on
3507 the last article in the group. Finally, if this variable is
3508 @code{slightly-quietly}, the @kbd{Z n} command will go to the next group
3509 without confirmation. Also @pxref{Group Levels}.
3511 @item gnus-auto-select-same
3512 @vindex gnus-auto-select-same
3513 If non-@code{nil}, all the movement commands will try to go to the next
3514 article with the same subject as the current. (@dfn{Same} here might
3515 mean @dfn{roughly equal}. See @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}
3516 for details (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).) If there are no more
3517 articles with the same subject, go to the first unread article.
3519 This variable is not particularly useful if you use a threaded display.
3521 @item gnus-summary-check-current
3522 @vindex gnus-summary-check-current
3523 If non-@code{nil}, all the ``unread'' movement commands will not proceed
3524 to the next (or previous) article if the current article is unread.
3525 Instead, they will choose the current article.
3527 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
3528 @vindex gnus-auto-center-summary
3529 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will keep the point in the summary buffer
3530 centered at all times. This makes things quite tidy, but if you have a
3531 slow network connection, or simply do not like this un-Emacsism, you can
3532 set this variable to @code{nil} to get the normal Emacs scrolling
3533 action. This will also inhibit horizontal re-centering of the summary
3534 buffer, which might make it more inconvenient to read extremely long
3540 @node Choosing Articles
3541 @section Choosing Articles
3542 @cindex selecting articles
3545 * Choosing Commands:: Commands for choosing articles.
3546 * Choosing Variables:: Variables that influence these commands.
3550 @node Choosing Commands
3551 @subsection Choosing Commands
3553 None of the following movement commands understand the numeric prefix,
3554 and they all select and display an article.
3558 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3559 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3560 Select the current article, or, if that one's read already, the next
3561 unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3566 @kindex G n (Summary)
3567 @findex gnus-summary-next-unread-article
3568 @c @icon{gnus-summary-next-unread}
3569 Go to next unread article (@code{gnus-summary-next-unread-article}).
3574 @findex gnus-summary-prev-unread-article
3575 @c @icon{gnus-summary-prev-unread}
3576 Go to previous unread article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-unread-article}).
3581 @kindex G N (Summary)
3582 @findex gnus-summary-next-article
3583 Go to the next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-article}).
3588 @kindex G P (Summary)
3589 @findex gnus-summary-prev-article
3590 Go to the previous article (@code{gnus-summary-prev-article}).
3593 @kindex G C-n (Summary)
3594 @findex gnus-summary-next-same-subject
3595 Go to the next article with the same subject
3596 (@code{gnus-summary-next-same-subject}).
3599 @kindex G C-p (Summary)
3600 @findex gnus-summary-prev-same-subject
3601 Go to the previous article with the same subject
3602 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-same-subject}).
3606 @kindex G f (Summary)
3608 @findex gnus-summary-first-unread-article
3609 Go to the first unread article
3610 (@code{gnus-summary-first-unread-article}).
3614 @kindex G b (Summary)
3616 @findex gnus-summary-best-unread-article
3617 Go to the article with the highest score
3618 (@code{gnus-summary-best-unread-article}).
3623 @kindex G l (Summary)
3624 @findex gnus-summary-goto-last-article
3625 Go to the previous article read (@code{gnus-summary-goto-last-article}).
3628 @kindex G o (Summary)
3629 @findex gnus-summary-pop-article
3631 @cindex article history
3632 Pop an article off the summary history and go to this article
3633 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-article}). This command differs from the
3634 command above in that you can pop as many previous articles off the
3635 history as you like, while @kbd{l} toggles the two last read articles.
3636 For a somewhat related issue (if you use these commands a lot),
3637 @pxref{Article Backlog}.
3641 @node Choosing Variables
3642 @subsection Choosing Variables
3644 Some variables relevant for moving and selecting articles:
3647 @item gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3648 @vindex gnus-auto-extend-newsgroup
3649 All the movement commands will try to go to the previous (or next)
3650 article, even if that article isn't displayed in the Summary buffer if
3651 this variable is non-@code{nil}. Gnus will then fetch the article from
3652 the server and display it in the article buffer.
3654 @item gnus-select-article-hook
3655 @vindex gnus-select-article-hook
3656 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. By default it
3657 exposes any threads hidden under the selected article.
3659 @item gnus-mark-article-hook
3660 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
3661 @findex gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read
3662 @findex gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read
3663 @findex gnus-unread-mark
3664 This hook is called whenever an article is selected. It is intended to
3665 be used for marking articles as read. The default value is
3666 @code{gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read}, and will change the
3667 mark of almost any article you read to @code{gnus-unread-mark}. The
3668 only articles not affected by this function are ticked, dormant, and
3669 expirable articles. If you'd instead like to just have unread articles
3670 marked as read, you can use @code{gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read}
3671 instead. It will leave marks like @code{gnus-low-score-mark},
3672 @code{gnus-del-mark} (and so on) alone.
3677 @node Paging the Article
3678 @section Scrolling the Article
3679 @cindex article scrolling
3684 @kindex SPACE (Summary)
3685 @findex gnus-summary-next-page
3686 Pressing @kbd{SPACE} will scroll the current article forward one page,
3687 or, if you have come to the end of the current article, will choose the
3688 next article (@code{gnus-summary-next-page}).
3691 @kindex DEL (Summary)
3692 @findex gnus-summary-prev-page
3693 Scroll the current article back one page (@code{gnus-summary-prev-page}).
3696 @kindex RET (Summary)
3697 @findex gnus-summary-scroll-up
3698 Scroll the current article one line forward
3699 (@code{gnus-summary-scroll-up}).
3703 @kindex A g (Summary)
3705 @findex gnus-summary-show-article
3706 (Re)fetch the current article (@code{gnus-summary-show-article}). If
3707 given a prefix, fetch the current article, but don't run any of the
3708 article treatment functions. This will give you a ``raw'' article, just
3709 the way it came from the server.
3714 @kindex A < (Summary)
3715 @findex gnus-summary-beginning-of-article
3716 Scroll to the beginning of the article
3717 (@code{gnus-summary-beginning-of-article}).
3722 @kindex A > (Summary)
3723 @findex gnus-summary-end-of-article
3724 Scroll to the end of the article (@code{gnus-summary-end-of-article}).
3728 @kindex A s (Summary)
3730 @findex gnus-summary-isearch-article
3731 Perform an isearch in the article buffer
3732 (@code{gnus-summary-isearch-article}).
3736 @findex gnus-summary-select-article-buffer
3737 Select the article buffer (@code{gnus-summary-select-article-buffer}).
3742 @node Reply Followup and Post
3743 @section Reply, Followup and Post
3746 * Summary Mail Commands:: Sending mail.
3747 * Summary Post Commands:: Sending news.
3751 @node Summary Mail Commands
3752 @subsection Summary Mail Commands
3754 @cindex composing mail
3756 Commands for composing a mail message:
3762 @kindex S r (Summary)
3764 @findex gnus-summary-reply
3765 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-reply}
3766 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply}
3767 Mail a reply to the author of the current article
3768 (@code{gnus-summary-reply}).
3773 @kindex S R (Summary)
3774 @findex gnus-summary-reply-with-original
3775 @c @icon{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}
3776 Mail a reply to the author of the current article and include the
3777 original message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This
3778 command uses the process/prefix convention.
3781 @kindex S w (Summary)
3782 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply
3783 Mail a wide reply to the author of the current article
3784 (@code{gnus-summary-wide-reply}). A @dfn{wide reply} is a reply that
3785 goes out to all people listed in the @code{To}, @code{From} (or
3786 @code{Reply-to}) and @code{Cc} headers.
3789 @kindex S W (Summary)
3790 @findex gnus-summary-wide-reply-with-original
3791 Mail a wide reply to the current article and include the original
3792 message (@code{gnus-summary-reply-with-original}). This command uses
3793 the process/prefix convention.
3796 @kindex S o m (Summary)
3797 @findex gnus-summary-mail-forward
3798 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-forward}
3799 Forward the current article to some other person
3800 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3801 headers of the forwarded article.
3806 @kindex S m (Summary)
3807 @findex gnus-summary-mail-other-window
3808 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-originate}
3809 Send a mail to some other person
3810 (@code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}).
3813 @kindex S D b (Summary)
3814 @findex gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail
3815 @cindex bouncing mail
3816 If you have sent a mail, but the mail was bounced back to you for some
3817 reason (wrong address, transient failure), you can use this command to
3818 resend that bounced mail (@code{gnus-summary-resend-bounced-mail}). You
3819 will be popped into a mail buffer where you can edit the headers before
3820 sending the mail off again. If you give a prefix to this command, and
3821 the bounced mail is a reply to some other mail, gnus will try to fetch
3822 that mail and display it for easy perusal of its headers. This might
3823 very well fail, though.
3826 @kindex S D r (Summary)
3827 @findex gnus-summary-resend-message
3828 Not to be confused with the previous command,
3829 @code{gnus-summary-resend-message} will prompt you for an address to
3830 send the current message off to, and then send it to that place. The
3831 headers of the message won't be altered---but lots of headers that say
3832 @code{Resent-To}, @code{Resent-From} and so on will be added. This
3833 means that you actually send a mail to someone that has a @code{To}
3834 header that (probably) points to yourself. This will confuse people.
3835 So, natcherly you'll only do that if you're really eVIl.
3837 This command is mainly used if you have several accounts and want to
3838 ship a mail to a different account of yours. (If you're both
3839 @code{root} and @code{postmaster} and get a mail for @code{postmaster}
3840 to the @code{root} account, you may want to resend it to
3841 @code{postmaster}. Ordnung mu
\e,A_
\e(B sein!
3843 This command understands the process/prefix convention
3844 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3847 @kindex S O m (Summary)
3848 @findex gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward
3849 Digest the current series (@pxref{Decoding Articles}) and forward the
3850 result using mail (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command
3851 uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3854 @kindex S M-c (Summary)
3855 @findex gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint
3856 @cindex crossposting
3857 @cindex excessive crossposting
3858 Send a complaint about excessive crossposting to the author of the
3859 current article (@code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint}).
3861 @findex gnus-crosspost-complaint
3862 This command is provided as a way to fight back against the current
3863 crossposting pandemic that's sweeping Usenet. It will compose a reply
3864 using the @code{gnus-crosspost-complaint} variable as a preamble. This
3865 command understands the process/prefix convention
3866 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) and will prompt you before sending each mail.
3870 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3873 @node Summary Post Commands
3874 @subsection Summary Post Commands
3876 @cindex composing news
3878 Commands for posting a news article:
3884 @kindex S p (Summary)
3885 @findex gnus-summary-post-news
3886 @c @icon{gnus-summary-post-news}
3887 Post an article to the current group
3888 (@code{gnus-summary-post-news}).
3893 @kindex S f (Summary)
3894 @findex gnus-summary-followup
3895 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup}
3896 Post a followup to the current article (@code{gnus-summary-followup}).
3900 @kindex S F (Summary)
3902 @c @icon{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}
3903 @findex gnus-summary-followup-with-original
3904 Post a followup to the current article and include the original message
3905 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-with-original}). This command uses the
3906 process/prefix convention.
3909 @kindex S n (Summary)
3910 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail
3911 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3912 message through mail (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail}).
3915 @kindex S N (Summary)
3916 @findex gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original
3917 Post a followup to the current article via news, even if you got the
3918 message through mail and include the original message
3919 (@code{gnus-summary-followup-to-mail-with-original}). This command uses
3920 the process/prefix convention.
3923 @kindex S o p (Summary)
3924 @findex gnus-summary-post-forward
3925 Forward the current article to a newsgroup
3926 (@code{gnus-summary-post-forward}). If given a prefix, include the full
3927 headers of the forwarded article.
3930 @kindex S O p (Summary)
3931 @findex gnus-uu-digest-post-forward
3933 @cindex making digests
3934 Digest the current series and forward the result to a newsgroup
3935 (@code{gnus-uu-digest-mail-forward}). This command uses the
3936 process/prefix convention.
3939 @kindex S u (Summary)
3940 @findex gnus-uu-post-news
3941 @c @icon{gnus-uu-post-news}
3942 Uuencode a file, split it into parts, and post it as a series
3943 (@code{gnus-uu-post-news}). (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
3946 Also @pxref{(message)Header Commands} for more information.
3949 @node Canceling and Superseding
3950 @section Canceling Articles
3951 @cindex canceling articles
3952 @cindex superseding articles
3954 Have you ever written something, and then decided that you really,
3955 really, really wish you hadn't posted that?
3957 Well, you can't cancel mail, but you can cancel posts.
3959 @findex gnus-summary-cancel-article
3961 @c @icon{gnus-summary-cancel-article}
3962 Find the article you wish to cancel (you can only cancel your own
3963 articles, so don't try any funny stuff). Then press @kbd{C} or @kbd{S
3964 c} (@code{gnus-summary-cancel-article}). Your article will be
3965 canceled---machines all over the world will be deleting your article.
3966 This command uses the process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
3968 Be aware, however, that not all sites honor cancels, so your article may
3969 live on here and there, while most sites will delete the article in
3972 Gnus will use the ``current'' select method when canceling. If you
3973 want to use the standard posting method, use the @samp{a} symbolic
3974 prefix (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}).
3976 If you discover that you have made some mistakes and want to do some
3977 corrections, you can post a @dfn{superseding} article that will replace
3978 your original article.
3980 @findex gnus-summary-supersede-article
3982 Go to the original article and press @kbd{S s}
3983 (@code{gnus-summary-supersede-article}). You will be put in a buffer
3984 where you can edit the article all you want before sending it off the
3987 The same goes for superseding as for canceling, only more so: Some
3988 sites do not honor superseding. On those sites, it will appear that you
3989 have posted almost the same article twice.
3991 If you have just posted the article, and change your mind right away,
3992 there is a trick you can use to cancel/supersede the article without
3993 waiting for the article to appear on your site first. You simply return
3994 to the post buffer (which is called @code{*sent ...*}). There you will
3995 find the article you just posted, with all the headers intact. Change
3996 the @code{Message-ID} header to a @code{Cancel} or @code{Supersedes}
3997 header by substituting one of those words for the word
3998 @code{Message-ID}. Then just press @kbd{C-c C-c} to send the article as
3999 you would do normally. The previous article will be
4000 canceled/superseded.
4002 Just remember, kids: There is no `c' in `supersede'.
4005 @node Marking Articles
4006 @section Marking Articles
4007 @cindex article marking
4008 @cindex article ticking
4011 There are several marks you can set on an article.
4013 You have marks that decide the @dfn{readedness} (whoo, neato-keano
4014 neologism ohoy!) of the article. Alphabetic marks generally mean
4015 @dfn{read}, while non-alphabetic characters generally mean @dfn{unread}.
4017 In addition, you also have marks that do not affect readedness.
4020 * Unread Articles:: Marks for unread articles.
4021 * Read Articles:: Marks for read articles.
4022 * Other Marks:: Marks that do not affect readedness.
4026 There's a plethora of commands for manipulating these marks:
4030 * Setting Marks:: How to set and remove marks.
4031 * Setting Process Marks:: How to mark articles for later processing.
4035 @node Unread Articles
4036 @subsection Unread Articles
4038 The following marks mark articles as (kinda) unread, in one form or
4043 @vindex gnus-ticked-mark
4044 Marked as ticked (@code{gnus-ticked-mark}).
4046 @dfn{Ticked articles} are articles that will remain visible always. If
4047 you see an article that you find interesting, or you want to put off
4048 reading it, or replying to it, until sometime later, you'd typically
4049 tick it. However, articles can be expired, so if you want to keep an
4050 article forever, you'll have to make it persistent (@pxref{Persistent
4054 @vindex gnus-dormant-mark
4055 Marked as dormant (@code{gnus-dormant-mark}).
4057 @dfn{Dormant articles} will only appear in the summary buffer if there
4058 are followups to it. If you want to see them even if they don't have
4059 followups, you can use the @kbd{/ D} command (@pxref{Limiting}).
4062 @vindex gnus-unread-mark
4063 Marked as unread (@code{gnus-unread-mark}).
4065 @dfn{Unread articles} are articles that haven't been read at all yet.
4070 @subsection Read Articles
4071 @cindex expirable mark
4073 All the following marks mark articles as read.
4078 @vindex gnus-del-mark
4079 These are articles that the user has marked as read with the @kbd{d}
4080 command manually, more or less (@code{gnus-del-mark}).
4083 @vindex gnus-read-mark
4084 Articles that have actually been read (@code{gnus-read-mark}).
4087 @vindex gnus-ancient-mark
4088 Articles that were marked as read in previous sessions and are now
4089 @dfn{old} (@code{gnus-ancient-mark}).
4092 @vindex gnus-killed-mark
4093 Marked as killed (@code{gnus-killed-mark}).
4096 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mark
4097 Marked as killed by kill files (@code{gnus-kill-file-mark}).
4100 @vindex gnus-low-score-mark
4101 Marked as read by having too low a score (@code{gnus-low-score-mark}).
4104 @vindex gnus-catchup-mark
4105 Marked as read by a catchup (@code{gnus-catchup-mark}).
4108 @vindex gnus-canceled-mark
4109 Canceled article (@code{gnus-canceled-mark})
4112 @vindex gnus-souped-mark
4113 @sc{SOUP}ed article (@code{gnus-souped-mark}). @xref{SOUP}.
4116 @vindex gnus-sparse-mark
4117 Sparsely reffed article (@code{gnus-sparse-mark}). @xref{Customizing
4121 @vindex gnus-duplicate-mark
4122 Article marked as read by duplicate suppression
4123 (@code{gnus-duplicated-mark}). @xref{Duplicate Suppression}.
4127 All these marks just mean that the article is marked as read, really.
4128 They are interpreted differently when doing adaptive scoring, though.
4130 One more special mark, though:
4134 @vindex gnus-expirable-mark
4135 Marked as expirable (@code{gnus-expirable-mark}).
4137 Marking articles as @dfn{expirable} (or have them marked as such
4138 automatically) doesn't make much sense in normal groups---a user doesn't
4139 control expiring of news articles, but in mail groups, for instance,
4140 articles marked as @dfn{expirable} can be deleted by gnus at any time.
4145 @subsection Other Marks
4146 @cindex process mark
4149 There are some marks that have nothing to do with whether the article is
4155 You can set a bookmark in the current article. Say you are reading a
4156 long thesis on cats' urinary tracts, and have to go home for dinner
4157 before you've finished reading the thesis. You can then set a bookmark
4158 in the article, and gnus will jump to this bookmark the next time it
4159 encounters the article. @xref{Setting Marks}
4162 @vindex gnus-replied-mark
4163 All articles that you have replied to or made a followup to (i.e., have
4164 answered) will be marked with an @samp{A} in the second column
4165 (@code{gnus-replied-mark}).
4168 @vindex gnus-cached-mark
4169 Articles stored in the article cache will be marked with an @samp{*} in
4170 the second column (@code{gnus-cached-mark}). @xref{Article Caching}
4173 @vindex gnus-saved-mark
4174 Articles ``saved'' (in some manner or other; not necessarily
4175 religiously) are marked with an @samp{S} in the second column
4176 (@code{gnus-saved-mark}).
4179 @vindex gnus-not-empty-thread-mark
4180 @vindex gnus-empty-thread-mark
4181 If the @samp{%e} spec is used, the presence of threads or not will be
4182 marked with @code{gnus-not-empty-thread-mark} and
4183 @code{gnus-empty-thread-mark} in the third column, respectively.
4186 @vindex gnus-process-mark
4187 Finally we have the @dfn{process mark} (@code{gnus-process-mark}). A
4188 variety of commands react to the presence of the process mark. For
4189 instance, @kbd{X u} (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}) will uudecode and view
4190 all articles that have been marked with the process mark. Articles
4191 marked with the process mark have a @samp{#} in the second column.
4195 You might have noticed that most of these ``non-readedness'' marks
4196 appear in the second column by default. So if you have a cached, saved,
4197 replied article that you have process-marked, what will that look like?
4199 Nothing much. The precedence rules go as follows: process -> cache ->
4200 replied -> saved. So if the article is in the cache and is replied,
4201 you'll only see the cache mark and not the replied mark.
4205 @subsection Setting Marks
4206 @cindex setting marks
4208 All the marking commands understand the numeric prefix.
4213 @kindex M c (Summary)
4214 @kindex M-u (Summary)
4215 @findex gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward
4216 @cindex mark as unread
4217 Clear all readedness-marks from the current article
4218 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-mark-forward}). In other words, mark the
4224 @kindex M t (Summary)
4225 @findex gnus-summary-tick-article-forward
4226 Tick the current article (@code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}).
4227 @xref{Article Caching}
4232 @kindex M ? (Summary)
4233 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant
4234 Mark the current article as dormant
4235 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-dormant}). @xref{Article Caching}
4239 @kindex M d (Summary)
4241 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward
4242 Mark the current article as read
4243 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-forward}).
4247 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward
4248 Mark the current article as read and move point to the previous line
4249 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-read-backward}).
4254 @kindex M k (Summary)
4255 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select
4256 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read,
4257 and then select the next unread article
4258 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject-and-select}).
4262 @kindex M K (Summary)
4263 @kindex C-k (Summary)
4264 @findex gnus-summary-kill-same-subject
4265 Mark all articles that have the same subject as the current one as read
4266 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-same-subject}).
4269 @kindex M C (Summary)
4270 @findex gnus-summary-catchup
4271 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup}
4272 Mark all unread articles as read (@code{gnus-summary-catchup}).
4275 @kindex M C-c (Summary)
4276 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all
4277 Mark all articles in the group as read---even the ticked and dormant
4278 articles (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all}).
4281 @kindex M H (Summary)
4282 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-to-here
4283 Catchup the current group to point
4284 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-to-here}).
4287 @kindex C-w (Summary)
4288 @findex gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read
4289 Mark all articles between point and mark as read
4290 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-region-as-read}).
4293 @kindex M V k (Summary)
4294 @findex gnus-summary-kill-below
4295 Kill all articles with scores below the default score (or below the
4296 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-kill-below}).
4300 @kindex M e (Summary)
4302 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable
4303 Mark the current article as expirable
4304 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-expirable}).
4307 @kindex M b (Summary)
4308 @findex gnus-summary-set-bookmark
4309 Set a bookmark in the current article
4310 (@code{gnus-summary-set-bookmark}).
4313 @kindex M B (Summary)
4314 @findex gnus-summary-remove-bookmark
4315 Remove the bookmark from the current article
4316 (@code{gnus-summary-remove-bookmark}).
4319 @kindex M V c (Summary)
4320 @findex gnus-summary-clear-above
4321 Clear all marks from articles with scores over the default score (or
4322 over the numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4325 @kindex M V u (Summary)
4326 @findex gnus-summary-tick-above
4327 Tick all articles with scores over the default score (or over the
4328 numeric prefix) (@code{gnus-summary-tick-above}).
4331 @kindex M V m (Summary)
4332 @findex gnus-summary-mark-above
4333 Prompt for a mark, and mark all articles with scores over the default
4334 score (or over the numeric prefix) with this mark
4335 (@code{gnus-summary-clear-above}).
4338 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
4339 The @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} variable controls what action should
4340 be taken after setting a mark. If non-@code{nil}, point will move to
4341 the next/previous unread article. If @code{nil}, point will just move
4342 one line up or down. As a special case, if this variable is
4343 @code{never}, all the marking commands as well as other commands (like
4344 @kbd{SPACE}) will move to the next article, whether it is unread or not.
4345 The default is @code{t}.
4348 @node Setting Process Marks
4349 @subsection Setting Process Marks
4350 @cindex setting process marks
4357 @kindex M P p (Summary)
4358 @findex gnus-summary-mark-as-processable
4359 Mark the current article with the process mark
4360 (@code{gnus-summary-mark-as-processable}).
4361 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable
4365 @kindex M P u (Summary)
4366 @kindex M-# (Summary)
4367 Remove the process mark, if any, from the current article
4368 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-as-processable}).
4371 @kindex M P U (Summary)
4372 @findex gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable
4373 Remove the process mark from all articles
4374 (@code{gnus-summary-unmark-all-processable}).
4377 @kindex M P i (Summary)
4378 @findex gnus-uu-invert-processable
4379 Invert the list of process marked articles
4380 (@code{gnus-uu-invert-processable}).
4383 @kindex M P R (Summary)
4384 @findex gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp
4385 Mark articles that have a @code{Subject} header that matches a regular
4386 expression (@code{gnus-uu-mark-by-regexp}).
4389 @kindex M P r (Summary)
4390 @findex gnus-uu-mark-region
4391 Mark articles in region (@code{gnus-uu-mark-region}).
4394 @kindex M P t (Summary)
4395 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4396 Mark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4397 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4400 @kindex M P T (Summary)
4401 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4402 Unmark all articles in the current (sub)thread
4403 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4406 @kindex M P v (Summary)
4407 @findex gnus-uu-mark-over
4408 Mark all articles that have a score above the prefix argument
4409 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-over}).
4412 @kindex M P s (Summary)
4413 @findex gnus-uu-mark-series
4414 Mark all articles in the current series (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4417 @kindex M P S (Summary)
4418 @findex gnus-uu-mark-sparse
4419 Mark all series that have already had some articles marked
4420 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-sparse}).
4423 @kindex M P a (Summary)
4424 @findex gnus-uu-mark-all
4425 Mark all articles in series order (@code{gnus-uu-mark-series}).
4428 @kindex M P b (Summary)
4429 @findex gnus-uu-mark-buffer
4430 Mark all articles in the buffer in the order they appear
4431 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-buffer}).
4434 @kindex M P k (Summary)
4435 @findex gnus-summary-kill-process-mark
4436 Push the current process mark set onto the stack and unmark all articles
4437 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-process-mark}).
4440 @kindex M P y (Summary)
4441 @findex gnus-summary-yank-process-mark
4442 Pop the previous process mark set from the stack and restore it
4443 (@code{gnus-summary-yank-process-mark}).
4446 @kindex M P w (Summary)
4447 @findex gnus-summary-save-process-mark
4448 Push the current process mark set onto the stack
4449 (@code{gnus-summary-save-process-mark}).
4458 It can be convenient to limit the summary buffer to just show some
4459 subset of the articles currently in the group. The effect most limit
4460 commands have is to remove a few (or many) articles from the summary
4463 All limiting commands work on subsets of the articles already fetched
4464 from the servers. None of these commands query the server for
4465 additional articles.
4471 @kindex / / (Summary)
4472 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-subject
4473 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some subject
4474 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-subject}).
4477 @kindex / a (Summary)
4478 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-author
4479 Limit the summary buffer to articles that match some author
4480 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-author}).
4484 @kindex / u (Summary)
4486 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-unread
4487 Limit the summary buffer to articles not marked as read
4488 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-unread}). If given a prefix, limit the
4489 buffer to articles strictly unread. This means that ticked and
4490 dormant articles will also be excluded.
4493 @kindex / m (Summary)
4494 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-marks
4495 Ask for a mark and then limit to all articles that have been marked
4496 with that mark (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}).
4499 @kindex / t (Summary)
4500 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-age
4501 Ask for a number and then limit the summary buffer to articles older than (or equal to) that number of days
4502 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-marks}). If given a prefix, limit to
4503 articles younger than that number of days.
4506 @kindex / n (Summary)
4507 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-articles
4508 Limit the summary buffer to the current article
4509 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-articles}). Uses the process/prefix
4510 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
4513 @kindex / w (Summary)
4514 @findex gnus-summary-pop-limit
4515 Pop the previous limit off the stack and restore it
4516 (@code{gnus-summary-pop-limit}). If given a prefix, pop all limits off
4520 @kindex / v (Summary)
4521 @findex gnus-summary-limit-to-score
4522 Limit the summary buffer to articles that have a score at or above some
4523 score (@code{gnus-summary-limit-to-score}).
4527 @kindex M S (Summary)
4528 @kindex / E (Summary)
4529 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged
4530 Include all expunged articles in the limit
4531 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-expunged}).
4534 @kindex / D (Summary)
4535 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant
4536 Include all dormant articles in the limit
4537 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-dormant}).
4540 @kindex / * (Summary)
4541 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-cached
4542 Include all cached articles in the limit
4543 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-include-cached}).
4546 @kindex / d (Summary)
4547 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant
4548 Exclude all dormant articles from the limit
4549 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-dormant}).
4552 @kindex / T (Summary)
4553 @findex gnus-summary-limit-include-thread
4554 Include all the articles in the current thread in the limit.
4557 @kindex / c (Summary)
4558 @findex gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant
4559 Exclude all dormant articles that have no children from the limit
4560 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-exclude-childless-dormant}).
4563 @kindex / C (Summary)
4564 @findex gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read
4565 Mark all excluded unread articles as read
4566 (@code{gnus-summary-limit-mark-excluded-as-read}). If given a prefix,
4567 also mark excluded ticked and dormant articles as read.
4575 @cindex article threading
4577 Gnus threads articles by default. @dfn{To thread} is to put responses
4578 to articles directly after the articles they respond to---in a
4579 hierarchical fashion.
4581 Threading is done by looking at the @code{References} headers of the
4582 articles. In a perfect world, this would be enough to build pretty
4583 trees, but unfortunately, the @code{References} header is often broken
4584 or simply missing. Weird news propagation excarcerbates the problem,
4585 so one has to employ other heuristics to get pleasing results. A
4586 plethora of approaches exists, as detailed in horrible detail in
4587 @pxref{Customizing Threading}.
4589 First, a quick overview of the concepts:
4593 The top-most article in a thread; the first article in the thread.
4596 A tree-like article structure.
4599 A small(er) section of this tree-like structure.
4602 Threads often lose their roots due to article expiry, or due to the root
4603 already having been read in a previous session, and not displayed in the
4604 summary buffer. We then typically have many sub-threads that really
4605 belong to one thread, but are without connecting roots. These are
4606 called loose threads.
4608 @item thread gathering
4609 An attempt to gather loose threads into bigger threads.
4611 @item sparse threads
4612 A thread where the missing articles have been ``guessed'' at, and are
4613 displayed as empty lines in the summary buffer.
4619 * Customizing Threading:: Variables you can change to affect the threading.
4620 * Thread Commands:: Thread based commands in the summary buffer.
4624 @node Customizing Threading
4625 @subsection Customizing Threading
4626 @cindex customizing threading
4629 * Loose Threads:: How gnus gathers loose threads into bigger threads.
4630 * Filling In Threads:: Making the threads displayed look fuller.
4631 * More Threading:: Even more variables for fiddling with threads.
4632 * Low-Level Threading:: You thought it was over... but you were wrong!
4637 @subsubsection Loose Threads
4640 @cindex loose threads
4643 @item gnus-summary-make-false-root
4644 @vindex gnus-summary-make-false-root
4645 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will gather all loose subtrees into one big tree
4646 and create a dummy root at the top. (Wait a minute. Root at the top?
4647 Yup.) Loose subtrees occur when the real root has expired, or you've
4648 read or killed the root in a previous session.
4650 When there is no real root of a thread, gnus will have to fudge
4651 something. This variable says what fudging method gnus should use.
4652 There are four possible values:
4656 \gnusfigure{The Summary Buffer}{390}{
4657 \put(0,0){\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-adopt.ps,width=7.5cm}}
4658 \put(445,0){\makebox(0,0)[br]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-empty.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4659 \put(0,400){\makebox(0,0)[tl]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-none.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4660 \put(445,400){\makebox(0,0)[tr]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/summary-dummy.ps,width=7.5cm}}}
4665 @cindex adopting articles
4670 Gnus will make the first of the orphaned articles the parent. This
4671 parent will adopt all the other articles. The adopted articles will be
4672 marked as such by pointy brackets (@samp{<>}) instead of the standard
4673 square brackets (@samp{[]}). This is the default method.
4676 @vindex gnus-summary-dummy-line-format
4677 Gnus will create a dummy summary line that will pretend to be the
4678 parent. This dummy line does not correspond to any real article, so
4679 selecting it will just select the first real article after the dummy
4680 article. @code{gnus-summary-dummy-line-format} is used to specify the
4681 format of the dummy roots. It accepts only one format spec: @samp{S},
4682 which is the subject of the article. @xref{Formatting Variables}.
4685 Gnus won't actually make any article the parent, but simply leave the
4686 subject field of all orphans except the first empty. (Actually, it will
4687 use @code{gnus-summary-same-subject} as the subject (@pxref{Summary
4691 Don't make any article parent at all. Just gather the threads and
4692 display them after one another.
4695 Don't gather loose threads.
4698 @item gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4699 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit
4700 Loose threads are gathered by comparing subjects of articles. If this
4701 variable is @code{nil}, gnus requires an exact match between the
4702 subjects of the loose threads before gathering them into one big
4703 super-thread. This might be too strict a requirement, what with the
4704 presence of stupid newsreaders that chop off long subject lines. If
4705 you think so, set this variable to, say, 20 to require that only the
4706 first 20 characters of the subjects have to match. If you set this
4707 variable to a really low number, you'll find that gnus will gather
4708 everything in sight into one thread, which isn't very helpful.
4710 @cindex fuzzy article gathering
4711 If you set this variable to the special value @code{fuzzy}, gnus will
4712 use a fuzzy string comparison algorithm on the subjects (@pxref{Fuzzy
4715 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4716 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy-regexp
4717 This can either be a regular expression or list of regular expressions
4718 that match strings that will be removed from subjects if fuzzy subject
4719 simplification is used.
4721 @item gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4722 @vindex gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4723 If you set @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit} to something as low
4724 as 10, you might consider setting this variable to something sensible:
4726 @c Written by Michael Ernst <mernst@cs.rice.edu>
4728 (setq gnus-simplify-ignored-prefixes
4734 "wanted" "followup" "summary\\( of\\)?"
4735 "help" "query" "problem" "question"
4736 "answer" "reference" "announce"
4737 "How can I" "How to" "Comparison of"
4742 (mapconcat 'identity
4743 '("for" "for reference" "with" "about")
4745 "\\)?\\]?:?[ \t]*"))
4748 All words that match this regexp will be removed before comparing two
4751 @item gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4752 @vindex gnus-simplify-subject-functions
4753 If non-@code{nil}, this variable overrides
4754 @code{gnus-summary-gather-subject-limit}. This variable should be a
4755 list of functions to apply to the @code{Subject} string iteratively to
4756 arrive at the simplified version of the string.
4758 Useful functions to put in this list include:
4761 @item gnus-simplify-subject-re
4762 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-re
4763 Strip the leading @samp{Re:}.
4765 @item gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4766 @findex gnus-simplify-subject-fuzzy
4769 @item gnus-simplify-whitespace
4770 @findex gnus-simplify-whitespace
4771 Remove excessive whitespace.
4774 You may also write your own functions, of course.
4777 @item gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4778 @vindex gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject
4779 Since loose thread gathering is done on subjects only, that might lead
4780 to many false hits, especially with certain common subjects like
4781 @samp{} and @samp{(none)}. To make the situation slightly better,
4782 you can use the regexp @code{gnus-summary-gather-exclude-subject} to say
4783 what subjects should be excluded from the gathering process.@*
4784 The default is @samp{^ *$\\|^(none)$}.
4786 @item gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4787 @vindex gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4788 Gnus gathers threads by looking at @code{Subject} headers. This means
4789 that totally unrelated articles may end up in the same ``thread'', which
4790 is confusing. An alternate approach is to look at all the
4791 @code{Message-ID}s in all the @code{References} headers to find matches.
4792 This will ensure that no gathered threads ever include unrelated
4793 articles, but it also means that people who have posted with broken
4794 newsreaders won't be gathered properly. The choice is yours---plague or
4798 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4799 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-subject
4800 This function is the default gathering function and looks at
4801 @code{Subject}s exclusively.
4803 @item gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4804 @findex gnus-gather-threads-by-references
4805 This function looks at @code{References} headers exclusively.
4808 If you want to test gathering by @code{References}, you could say
4812 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
4813 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
4819 @node Filling In Threads
4820 @subsubsection Filling In Threads
4823 @item gnus-fetch-old-headers
4824 @vindex gnus-fetch-old-headers
4825 If non-@code{nil}, gnus will attempt to build old threads by fetching
4826 more old headers---headers to articles marked as read. If you would
4827 like to display as few summary lines as possible, but still connect as
4828 many loose threads as possible, you should set this variable to
4829 @code{some} or a number. If you set it to a number, no more than that
4830 number of extra old headers will be fetched. In either case, fetching
4831 old headers only works if the backend you are using carries overview
4832 files---this would normally be @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and
4833 @code{nnml}. Also remember that if the root of the thread has been
4834 expired by the server, there's not much gnus can do about that.
4836 This variable can also be set to @code{invisible}. This won't have any
4837 visible effects, but is useful if you use the @kbd{A T} command a lot
4838 (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
4840 @item gnus-build-sparse-threads
4841 @vindex gnus-build-sparse-threads
4842 Fetching old headers can be slow. A low-rent similar effect can be
4843 gotten by setting this variable to @code{some}. Gnus will then look at
4844 the complete @code{References} headers of all articles and try to string
4845 together articles that belong in the same thread. This will leave
4846 @dfn{gaps} in the threading display where gnus guesses that an article
4847 is missing from the thread. (These gaps appear like normal summary
4848 lines. If you select a gap, gnus will try to fetch the article in
4849 question.) If this variable is @code{t}, gnus will display all these
4850 ``gaps'' without regard for whether they are useful for completing the
4851 thread or not. Finally, if this variable is @code{more}, gnus won't cut
4852 off sparse leaf nodes that don't lead anywhere. This variable is
4853 @code{nil} by default.
4858 @node More Threading
4859 @subsubsection More Threading
4862 @item gnus-show-threads
4863 @vindex gnus-show-threads
4864 If this variable is @code{nil}, no threading will be done, and all of
4865 the rest of the variables here will have no effect. Turning threading
4866 off will speed group selection up a bit, but it is sure to make reading
4867 slower and more awkward.
4869 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4870 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-subtree
4871 If non-@code{nil}, all threads will be hidden when the summary buffer is
4874 @item gnus-thread-expunge-below
4875 @vindex gnus-thread-expunge-below
4876 All threads that have a total score (as defined by
4877 @code{gnus-thread-score-function}) less than this number will be
4878 expunged. This variable is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
4879 threads are expunged.
4881 @item gnus-thread-hide-killed
4882 @vindex gnus-thread-hide-killed
4883 if you kill a thread and this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subtree
4886 @item gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4887 @vindex gnus-thread-ignore-subject
4888 Sometimes somebody changes the subject in the middle of a thread. If
4889 this variable is non-@code{nil}, the subject change is ignored. If it
4890 is @code{nil}, which is the default, a change in the subject will result
4893 @item gnus-thread-indent-level
4894 @vindex gnus-thread-indent-level
4895 This is a number that says how much each sub-thread should be indented.
4901 @node Low-Level Threading
4902 @subsubsection Low-Level Threading
4906 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
4907 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
4908 Hook run before parsing any headers. The default value is
4909 @code{(gnus-set-summary-default-charset)}, which sets up local value of
4910 @code{default-mime-charset} in summary buffer based on variable
4911 @code{gnus-newsgroup-default-charset-alist}.
4913 @item gnus-alter-header-function
4914 @vindex gnus-alter-header-function
4915 If non-@code{nil}, this function will be called to allow alteration of
4916 article header structures. The function is called with one parameter,
4917 the article header vector, which it may alter in any way. For instance,
4918 if you have a mail-to-news gateway which alters the @code{Message-ID}s
4919 in systematic ways (by adding prefixes and such), you can use this
4920 variable to un-scramble the @code{Message-ID}s so that they are more
4921 meaningful. Here's one example:
4924 (setq gnus-alter-header-function 'my-alter-message-id)
4926 (defun my-alter-message-id (header)
4927 (let ((id (mail-header-id header)))
4929 "\\(<[^<>@@]*\\)\\.?cygnus\\..*@@\\([^<>@@]*>\\)" id)
4931 (concat (match-string 1 id) "@@" (match-string 2 id))
4938 @node Thread Commands
4939 @subsection Thread Commands
4940 @cindex thread commands
4946 @kindex T k (Summary)
4947 @kindex M-C-k (Summary)
4948 @findex gnus-summary-kill-thread
4949 Mark all articles in the current (sub-)thread as read
4950 (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}). If the prefix argument is positive,
4951 remove all marks instead. If the prefix argument is negative, tick
4956 @kindex T l (Summary)
4957 @kindex M-C-l (Summary)
4958 @findex gnus-summary-lower-thread
4959 Lower the score of the current (sub-)thread
4960 (@code{gnus-summary-lower-thread}).
4963 @kindex T i (Summary)
4964 @findex gnus-summary-raise-thread
4965 Increase the score of the current (sub-)thread
4966 (@code{gnus-summary-raise-thread}).
4969 @kindex T # (Summary)
4970 @findex gnus-uu-mark-thread
4971 Set the process mark on the current (sub-)thread
4972 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-thread}).
4975 @kindex T M-# (Summary)
4976 @findex gnus-uu-unmark-thread
4977 Remove the process mark from the current (sub-)thread
4978 (@code{gnus-uu-unmark-thread}).
4981 @kindex T T (Summary)
4982 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-threads
4983 Toggle threading (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-threads}).
4986 @kindex T s (Summary)
4987 @findex gnus-summary-show-thread
4988 Expose the (sub-)thread hidden under the current article, if any
4989 (@code{gnus-summary-show-thread}).
4992 @kindex T h (Summary)
4993 @findex gnus-summary-hide-thread
4994 Hide the current (sub-)thread (@code{gnus-summary-hide-thread}).
4997 @kindex T S (Summary)
4998 @findex gnus-summary-show-all-threads
4999 Expose all hidden threads (@code{gnus-summary-show-all-threads}).
5002 @kindex T H (Summary)
5003 @findex gnus-summary-hide-all-threads
5004 Hide all threads (@code{gnus-summary-hide-all-threads}).
5007 @kindex T t (Summary)
5008 @findex gnus-summary-rethread-current
5009 Re-thread the current article's thread
5010 (@code{gnus-summary-rethread-current}). This works even when the
5011 summary buffer is otherwise unthreaded.
5014 @kindex T ^ (Summary)
5015 @findex gnus-summary-reparent-thread
5016 Make the current article the child of the marked (or previous) article
5017 (@code{gnus-summary-reparent-thread}).
5021 The following commands are thread movement commands. They all
5022 understand the numeric prefix.
5027 @kindex T n (Summary)
5028 @findex gnus-summary-next-thread
5029 Go to the next thread (@code{gnus-summary-next-thread}).
5032 @kindex T p (Summary)
5033 @findex gnus-summary-prev-thread
5034 Go to the previous thread (@code{gnus-summary-prev-thread}).
5037 @kindex T d (Summary)
5038 @findex gnus-summary-down-thread
5039 Descend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-down-thread}).
5042 @kindex T u (Summary)
5043 @findex gnus-summary-up-thread
5044 Ascend the thread (@code{gnus-summary-up-thread}).
5047 @kindex T o (Summary)
5048 @findex gnus-summary-top-thread
5049 Go to the top of the thread (@code{gnus-summary-top-thread}).
5052 @vindex gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject
5053 If you ignore subject while threading, you'll naturally end up with
5054 threads that have several different subjects in them. If you then issue
5055 a command like `T k' (@code{gnus-summary-kill-thread}) you might not
5056 wish to kill the entire thread, but just those parts of the thread that
5057 have the same subject as the current article. If you like this idea,
5058 you can fiddle with @code{gnus-thread-operation-ignore-subject}. If it
5059 is non-@code{nil} (which it is by default), subjects will be ignored
5060 when doing thread commands. If this variable is @code{nil}, articles in
5061 the same thread with different subjects will not be included in the
5062 operation in question. If this variable is @code{fuzzy}, only articles
5063 that have subjects fuzzily equal will be included (@pxref{Fuzzy
5070 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score
5071 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-date
5072 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-score
5073 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5074 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-author
5075 @findex gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5076 @vindex gnus-thread-sort-functions
5077 If you are using a threaded summary display, you can sort the threads by
5078 setting @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, which is a list of functions.
5079 By default, sorting is done on article numbers. Ready-made sorting
5080 predicate functions include @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number},
5081 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-subject},
5082 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-date}, @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-score}, and
5083 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score}.
5085 Each function takes two threads and returns non-@code{nil} if the first
5086 thread should be sorted before the other. Note that sorting really is
5087 normally done by looking only at the roots of each thread. If you use
5088 more than one function, the primary sort key should be the last function
5089 in the list. You should probably always include
5090 @code{gnus-thread-sort-by-number} in the list of sorting
5091 functions---preferably first. This will ensure that threads that are
5092 equal with respect to the other sort criteria will be displayed in
5093 ascending article order.
5095 If you would like to sort by score, then by subject, and finally by
5096 number, you could do something like:
5099 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5100 '(gnus-thread-sort-by-number
5101 gnus-thread-sort-by-subject
5102 gnus-thread-sort-by-total-score))
5105 The threads that have highest score will be displayed first in the
5106 summary buffer. When threads have the same score, they will be sorted
5107 alphabetically. The threads that have the same score and the same
5108 subject will be sorted by number, which is (normally) the sequence in
5109 which the articles arrived.
5111 If you want to sort by score and then reverse arrival order, you could
5115 (setq gnus-thread-sort-functions
5117 (not (gnus-thread-sort-by-number t1 t2)))
5118 gnus-thread-sort-by-score))
5121 @vindex gnus-thread-score-function
5122 The function in the @code{gnus-thread-score-function} variable (default
5123 @code{+}) is used for calculating the total score of a thread. Useful
5124 functions might be @code{max}, @code{min}, or squared means, or whatever
5127 @findex gnus-article-sort-functions
5128 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-date
5129 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-score
5130 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-subject
5131 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-author
5132 @findex gnus-article-sort-by-number
5133 If you are using an unthreaded display for some strange reason or other,
5134 you have to fiddle with the @code{gnus-article-sort-functions} variable.
5135 It is very similar to the @code{gnus-thread-sort-functions}, except that
5136 it uses slightly different functions for article comparison. Available
5137 sorting predicate functions are @code{gnus-article-sort-by-number},
5138 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-author}, @code{gnus-article-sort-by-subject},
5139 @code{gnus-article-sort-by-date}, and @code{gnus-article-sort-by-score}.
5141 If you want to sort an unthreaded summary display by subject, you could
5145 (setq gnus-article-sort-functions
5146 '(gnus-article-sort-by-number
5147 gnus-article-sort-by-subject))
5152 @node Asynchronous Fetching
5153 @section Asynchronous Article Fetching
5154 @cindex asynchronous article fetching
5155 @cindex article pre-fetch
5158 If you read your news from an @sc{nntp} server that's far away, the
5159 network latencies may make reading articles a chore. You have to wait
5160 for a while after pressing @kbd{n} to go to the next article before the
5161 article appears. Why can't gnus just go ahead and fetch the article
5162 while you are reading the previous one? Why not, indeed.
5164 First, some caveats. There are some pitfalls to using asynchronous
5165 article fetching, especially the way gnus does it.
5167 Let's say you are reading article 1, which is short, and article 2 is
5168 quite long, and you are not interested in reading that. Gnus does not
5169 know this, so it goes ahead and fetches article 2. You decide to read
5170 article 3, but since gnus is in the process of fetching article 2, the
5171 connection is blocked.
5173 To avoid these situations, gnus will open two (count 'em two)
5174 connections to the server. Some people may think this isn't a very nice
5175 thing to do, but I don't see any real alternatives. Setting up that
5176 extra connection takes some time, so gnus startup will be slower.
5178 Gnus will fetch more articles than you will read. This will mean that
5179 the link between your machine and the @sc{nntp} server will become more
5180 loaded than if you didn't use article pre-fetch. The server itself will
5181 also become more loaded---both with the extra article requests, and the
5184 Ok, so now you know that you shouldn't really use this thing... unless
5187 @vindex gnus-asynchronous
5188 Here's how: Set @code{gnus-asynchronous} to @code{t}. The rest should
5189 happen automatically.
5191 @vindex gnus-use-article-prefetch
5192 You can control how many articles are to be pre-fetched by setting
5193 @code{gnus-use-article-prefetch}. This is 30 by default, which means
5194 that when you read an article in the group, the backend will pre-fetch
5195 the next 30 articles. If this variable is @code{t}, the backend will
5196 pre-fetch all the articles it can without bound. If it is
5197 @code{nil}, no pre-fetching will be done.
5199 @vindex gnus-async-prefetch-article-p
5200 @findex gnus-async-read-p
5201 There are probably some articles that you don't want to pre-fetch---read
5202 articles, for instance. The @code{gnus-async-prefetch-article-p} variable controls whether an article is to be pre-fetched. This function should
5203 return non-@code{nil} when the article in question is to be
5204 pre-fetched. The default is @code{gnus-async-read-p}, which returns
5205 @code{nil} on read articles. The function is called with an article
5206 data structure as the only parameter.
5208 If, for instance, you wish to pre-fetch only unread articles shorter
5209 than 100 lines, you could say something like:
5212 (defun my-async-short-unread-p (data)
5213 "Return non-nil for short, unread articles."
5214 (and (gnus-data-unread-p data)
5215 (< (mail-header-lines (gnus-data-header data))
5218 (setq gnus-async-prefetch-article-p 'my-async-short-unread-p)
5221 These functions will be called many, many times, so they should
5222 preferably be short and sweet to avoid slowing down gnus too much. It's
5223 probably a good idea to byte-compile things like this.
5225 @vindex gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy
5226 Articles have to be removed from the asynch buffer sooner or later. The
5227 @code{gnus-prefetched-article-deletion-strategy} says when to remove
5228 articles. This is a list that may contain the following elements:
5232 Remove articles when they are read.
5235 Remove articles when exiting the group.
5238 The default value is @code{(read exit)}.
5240 @vindex gnus-use-header-prefetch
5241 If @code{gnus-use-header-prefetch} is non-@code{nil}, prefetch articles
5242 from the next group.
5245 @node Article Caching
5246 @section Article Caching
5247 @cindex article caching
5250 If you have an @emph{extremely} slow @sc{nntp} connection, you may
5251 consider turning article caching on. Each article will then be stored
5252 locally under your home directory. As you may surmise, this could
5253 potentially use @emph{huge} amounts of disk space, as well as eat up all
5254 your inodes so fast it will make your head swim. In vodka.
5256 Used carefully, though, it could be just an easier way to save articles.
5258 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5259 @vindex gnus-cache-directory
5260 @vindex gnus-use-cache
5261 To turn caching on, set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{t}. By default,
5262 all articles ticked or marked as dormant will then be copied
5263 over to your local cache (@code{gnus-cache-directory}). Whether this
5264 cache is flat or hierarchal is controlled by the
5265 @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable, as usual.
5267 When re-selecting a ticked or dormant article, it will be fetched from the
5268 cache instead of from the server. As articles in your cache will never
5269 expire, this might serve as a method of saving articles while still
5270 keeping them where they belong. Just mark all articles you want to save
5271 as dormant, and don't worry.
5273 When an article is marked as read, is it removed from the cache.
5275 @vindex gnus-cache-remove-articles
5276 @vindex gnus-cache-enter-articles
5277 The entering/removal of articles from the cache is controlled by the
5278 @code{gnus-cache-enter-articles} and @code{gnus-cache-remove-articles}
5279 variables. Both are lists of symbols. The first is @code{(ticked
5280 dormant)} by default, meaning that ticked and dormant articles will be
5281 put in the cache. The latter is @code{(read)} by default, meaning that
5282 articles marked as read are removed from the cache. Possibly
5283 symbols in these two lists are @code{ticked}, @code{dormant},
5284 @code{unread} and @code{read}.
5286 @findex gnus-jog-cache
5287 So where does the massive article-fetching and storing come into the
5288 picture? The @code{gnus-jog-cache} command will go through all
5289 subscribed newsgroups, request all unread articles, score them, and
5290 store them in the cache. You should only ever, ever ever ever, use this
5291 command if 1) your connection to the @sc{nntp} server is really, really,
5292 really slow and 2) you have a really, really, really huge disk.
5293 Seriously. One way to cut down on the number of articles downloaded is
5294 to score unwanted articles down and have them marked as read. They will
5295 not then be downloaded by this command.
5297 @vindex gnus-uncacheable-groups
5298 It is likely that you do not want caching on some groups. For instance,
5299 if your @code{nnml} mail is located under your home directory, it makes no
5300 sense to cache it somewhere else under your home directory. Unless you
5301 feel that it's neat to use twice as much space. To limit the caching,
5302 you could set the @code{gnus-uncacheable-groups} regexp to
5303 @samp{^nnml}, for instance. This variable is @code{nil} by
5306 @findex gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases
5307 @findex gnus-cache-generate-active
5308 @vindex gnus-cache-active-file
5309 The cache stores information on what articles it contains in its active
5310 file (@code{gnus-cache-active-file}). If this file (or any other parts
5311 of the cache) becomes all messed up for some reason or other, gnus
5312 offers two functions that will try to set things right. @kbd{M-x
5313 gnus-cache-generate-nov-databases} will (re)build all the @sc{nov}
5314 files, and @kbd{gnus-cache-generate-active} will (re)generate the active
5318 @node Persistent Articles
5319 @section Persistent Articles
5320 @cindex persistent articles
5322 Closely related to article caching, we have @dfn{persistent articles}.
5323 In fact, it's just a different way of looking at caching, and much more
5324 useful in my opinion.
5326 Say you're reading a newsgroup, and you happen on to some valuable gem
5327 that you want to keep and treasure forever. You'd normally just save it
5328 (using one of the many saving commands) in some file. The problem with
5329 that is that it's just, well, yucky. Ideally you'd prefer just having
5330 the article remain in the group where you found it forever; untouched by
5331 the expiry going on at the news server.
5333 This is what a @dfn{persistent article} is---an article that just won't
5334 be deleted. It's implemented using the normal cache functions, but
5335 you use two explicit commands for managing persistent articles:
5341 @findex gnus-cache-enter-article
5342 Make the current article persistent (@code{gnus-cache-enter-article}).
5345 @kindex M-* (Summary)
5346 @findex gnus-cache-remove-article
5347 Remove the current article from the persistent articles
5348 (@code{gnus-cache-remove-article}). This will normally delete the
5352 Both these commands understand the process/prefix convention.
5354 To avoid having all ticked articles (and stuff) entered into the cache,
5355 you should set @code{gnus-use-cache} to @code{passive} if you're just
5356 interested in persistent articles:
5359 (setq gnus-use-cache 'passive)
5363 @node Article Backlog
5364 @section Article Backlog
5366 @cindex article backlog
5368 If you have a slow connection, but the idea of using caching seems
5369 unappealing to you (and it is, really), you can help the situation some
5370 by switching on the @dfn{backlog}. This is where gnus will buffer
5371 already read articles so that it doesn't have to re-fetch articles
5372 you've already read. This only helps if you are in the habit of
5373 re-selecting articles you've recently read, of course. If you never do
5374 that, turning the backlog on will slow gnus down a little bit, and
5375 increase memory usage some.
5377 @vindex gnus-keep-backlog
5378 If you set @code{gnus-keep-backlog} to a number @var{n}, gnus will store
5379 at most @var{n} old articles in a buffer for later re-fetching. If this
5380 variable is non-@code{nil} and is not a number, gnus will store
5381 @emph{all} read articles, which means that your Emacs will grow without
5382 bound before exploding and taking your machine down with you. I put
5383 that in there just to keep y'all on your toes.
5385 This variable is @code{nil} by default.
5388 @node Saving Articles
5389 @section Saving Articles
5390 @cindex saving articles
5392 Gnus can save articles in a number of ways. Below is the documentation
5393 for saving articles in a fairly straight-forward fashion (i.e., little
5394 processing of the article is done before it is saved). For a different
5395 approach (uudecoding, unsharing) you should use @code{gnus-uu}
5396 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
5398 @vindex gnus-save-all-headers
5399 If @code{gnus-save-all-headers} is non-@code{nil}, gnus will not delete
5400 unwanted headers before saving the article.
5402 @vindex gnus-saved-headers
5403 If the preceding variable is @code{nil}, all headers that match the
5404 @code{gnus-saved-headers} regexp will be kept, while the rest will be
5405 deleted before saving.
5411 @kindex O o (Summary)
5413 @findex gnus-summary-save-article
5414 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article}
5415 Save the current article using the default article saver
5416 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article}).
5419 @kindex O m (Summary)
5420 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-mail
5421 Save the current article in mail format
5422 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-mail}).
5425 @kindex O r (Summary)
5426 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-rmail
5427 Save the current article in rmail format
5428 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-rmail}).
5431 @kindex O f (Summary)
5432 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-file
5433 @c @icon{gnus-summary-save-article-file}
5434 Save the current article in plain file format
5435 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-file}).
5438 @kindex O F (Summary)
5439 @findex gnus-summary-write-article-file
5440 Write the current article in plain file format, overwriting any previous
5441 file contents (@code{gnus-summary-write-article-file}).
5444 @kindex O b (Summary)
5445 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-body-file
5446 Save the current article body in plain file format
5447 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-body-file}).
5450 @kindex O h (Summary)
5451 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-folder
5452 Save the current article in mh folder format
5453 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-folder}).
5456 @kindex O v (Summary)
5457 @findex gnus-summary-save-article-vm
5458 Save the current article in a VM folder
5459 (@code{gnus-summary-save-article-vm}).
5462 @kindex O p (Summary)
5463 @findex gnus-summary-pipe-output
5464 Save the current article in a pipe. Uhm, like, what I mean is---Pipe
5465 the current article to a process (@code{gnus-summary-pipe-output}).
5468 @vindex gnus-prompt-before-saving
5469 All these commands use the process/prefix convention
5470 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). If you save bunches of articles using these
5471 functions, you might get tired of being prompted for files to save each
5472 and every article in. The prompting action is controlled by
5473 the @code{gnus-prompt-before-saving} variable, which is @code{always} by
5474 default, giving you that excessive prompting action you know and
5475 loathe. If you set this variable to @code{t} instead, you'll be prompted
5476 just once for each series of articles you save. If you like to really
5477 have Gnus do all your thinking for you, you can even set this variable
5478 to @code{nil}, which means that you will never be prompted for files to
5479 save articles in. Gnus will simply save all the articles in the default
5483 @vindex gnus-default-article-saver
5484 You can customize the @code{gnus-default-article-saver} variable to make
5485 gnus do what you want it to. You can use any of the four ready-made
5486 functions below, or you can create your own.
5490 @item gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5491 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-rmail
5492 @vindex gnus-rmail-save-name
5493 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5494 This is the default format, @dfn{babyl}. Uses the function in the
5495 @code{gnus-rmail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5496 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5498 @item gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5499 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-mail
5500 @vindex gnus-mail-save-name
5501 Save in a Unix mail (mbox) file. Uses the function in the
5502 @code{gnus-mail-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5503 article in. The default is @code{gnus-plain-save-name}.
5505 @item gnus-summary-save-in-file
5506 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-file
5507 @vindex gnus-file-save-name
5508 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5509 Append the article straight to an ordinary file. Uses the function in
5510 the @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5511 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5513 @item gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5514 @findex gnus-summary-save-body-in-file
5515 Append the article body to an ordinary file. Uses the function in the
5516 @code{gnus-file-save-name} variable to get a file name to save the
5517 article in. The default is @code{gnus-numeric-save-name}.
5519 @item gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5520 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-folder
5521 @findex gnus-folder-save-name
5522 @findex gnus-Folder-save-name
5523 @vindex gnus-folder-save-name
5526 Save the article to an MH folder using @code{rcvstore} from the MH
5527 library. Uses the function in the @code{gnus-folder-save-name} variable
5528 to get a file name to save the article in. The default is
5529 @code{gnus-folder-save-name}, but you can also use
5530 @code{gnus-Folder-save-name}, which creates capitalized names.
5532 @item gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5533 @findex gnus-summary-save-in-vm
5534 Save the article in a VM folder. You have to have the VM mail
5535 reader to use this setting.
5538 @vindex gnus-article-save-directory
5539 All of these functions, except for the last one, will save the article
5540 in the @code{gnus-article-save-directory}, which is initialized from the
5541 @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable. This is @file{~/News/} by
5544 As you can see above, the functions use different functions to find a
5545 suitable name of a file to save the article in. Below is a list of
5546 available functions that generate names:
5550 @item gnus-Numeric-save-name
5551 @findex gnus-Numeric-save-name
5552 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5554 @item gnus-numeric-save-name
5555 @findex gnus-numeric-save-name
5556 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin/45}.
5558 @item gnus-Plain-save-name
5559 @findex gnus-Plain-save-name
5560 File names like @file{~/News/Alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5562 @item gnus-plain-save-name
5563 @findex gnus-plain-save-name
5564 File names like @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.
5567 @vindex gnus-split-methods
5568 You can have gnus suggest where to save articles by plonking a regexp
5569 into the @code{gnus-split-methods} alist. For instance, if you would
5570 like to save articles related to gnus in the file @file{gnus-stuff}, and
5571 articles related to VM in @code{vm-stuff}, you could set this variable
5575 (("^Subject:.*gnus\\|^Newsgroups:.*gnus" "gnus-stuff")
5576 ("^Subject:.*vm\\|^Xref:.*vm" "vm-stuff")
5577 (my-choosing-function "../other-dir/my-stuff")
5578 ((equal gnus-newsgroup-name "mail.misc") "mail-stuff"))
5581 We see that this is a list where each element is a list that has two
5582 elements---the @dfn{match} and the @dfn{file}. The match can either be
5583 a string (in which case it is used as a regexp to match on the article
5584 head); it can be a symbol (which will be called as a function with the
5585 group name as a parameter); or it can be a list (which will be
5586 @code{eval}ed). If any of these actions have a non-@code{nil} result,
5587 the @dfn{file} will be used as a default prompt. In addition, the
5588 result of the operation itself will be used if the function or form
5589 called returns a string or a list of strings.
5591 You basically end up with a list of file names that might be used when
5592 saving the current article. (All ``matches'' will be used.) You will
5593 then be prompted for what you really want to use as a name, with file
5594 name completion over the results from applying this variable.
5596 This variable is @code{((gnus-article-archive-name))} by default, which
5597 means that gnus will look at the articles it saves for an
5598 @code{Archive-name} line and use that as a suggestion for the file name.
5600 Here's an example function to clean up file names somewhat. If you have
5601 lots of mail groups called things like
5602 @samp{nnml:mail.whatever}, you may want to chop off the beginning of
5603 these group names before creating the file name to save to. The
5604 following will do just that:
5607 (defun my-save-name (group)
5608 (when (string-match "^nnml:mail." group)
5609 (substring group (match-end 0))))
5611 (setq gnus-split-methods
5612 '((gnus-article-archive-name)
5617 @vindex gnus-use-long-file-name
5618 Finally, you have the @code{gnus-use-long-file-name} variable. If it is
5619 @code{nil}, all the preceding functions will replace all periods
5620 (@samp{.}) in the group names with slashes (@samp{/})---which means that
5621 the functions will generate hierarchies of directories instead of having
5622 all the files in the top level directory
5623 (@file{~/News/alt/andrea-dworkin} instead of
5624 @file{~/News/alt.andrea-dworkin}.) This variable is @code{t} by default
5625 on most systems. However, for historical reasons, this is @code{nil} on
5626 Xenix and usg-unix-v machines by default.
5628 This function also affects kill and score file names. If this variable
5629 is a list, and the list contains the element @code{not-score}, long file
5630 names will not be used for score files, if it contains the element
5631 @code{not-save}, long file names will not be used for saving, and if it
5632 contains the element @code{not-kill}, long file names will not be used
5635 If you'd like to save articles in a hierarchy that looks something like
5639 (setq gnus-use-long-file-name '(not-save)) ; to get a hierarchy
5640 (setq gnus-default-article-saver 'gnus-summary-save-in-file) ; no encoding
5643 Then just save with @kbd{o}. You'd then read this hierarchy with
5644 ephemeral @code{nneething} groups---@kbd{G D} in the group buffer, and
5645 the top level directory as the argument (@file{~/News/}). Then just walk
5646 around to the groups/directories with @code{nneething}.
5649 @node Decoding Articles
5650 @section Decoding Articles
5651 @cindex decoding articles
5653 Sometime users post articles (or series of articles) that have been
5654 encoded in some way or other. Gnus can decode them for you.
5657 * Uuencoded Articles:: Uudecode articles.
5658 * Shell Archives:: Unshar articles.
5659 * PostScript Files:: Split PostScript.
5660 * Other Files:: Plain save and binhex.
5661 * Decoding Variables:: Variables for a happy decoding.
5662 * Viewing Files:: You want to look at the result of the decoding?
5666 @cindex article series
5667 All these functions use the process/prefix convention
5668 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}) for finding out what articles to work on, with
5669 the extension that a ``single article'' means ``a single series''. Gnus
5670 can find out by itself what articles belong to a series, decode all the
5671 articles and unpack/view/save the resulting file(s).
5673 Gnus guesses what articles are in the series according to the following
5674 simplish rule: The subjects must be (nearly) identical, except for the
5675 last two numbers of the line. (Spaces are largely ignored, however.)
5677 For example: If you choose a subject called @samp{cat.gif (2/3)}, gnus
5678 will find all the articles that match the regexp @samp{^cat.gif
5679 ([0-9]+/[0-9]+).*$}.
5681 Subjects that are non-standard, like @samp{cat.gif (2/3) Part 6 of a
5682 series}, will not be properly recognized by any of the automatic viewing
5683 commands, and you have to mark the articles manually with @kbd{#}.
5686 @node Uuencoded Articles
5687 @subsection Uuencoded Articles
5689 @cindex uuencoded articles
5694 @kindex X u (Summary)
5695 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu
5696 @c @icon{gnus-uu-decode-uu}
5697 Uudecodes the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu}).
5700 @kindex X U (Summary)
5701 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save
5702 Uudecodes and saves the current series
5703 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5706 @kindex X v u (Summary)
5707 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-view
5708 Uudecodes and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-view}).
5711 @kindex X v U (Summary)
5712 @findex gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view
5713 Uudecodes, views and saves the current series
5714 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save-view}).
5718 Remember that these all react to the presence of articles marked with
5719 the process mark. If, for instance, you'd like to decode and save an
5720 entire newsgroup, you'd typically do @kbd{M P a}
5721 (@code{gnus-uu-mark-all}) and then @kbd{X U}
5722 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-uu-and-save}).
5724 All this is very much different from how @code{gnus-uu} worked with
5725 @sc{GNUS 4.1}, where you had explicit keystrokes for everything under
5726 the sun. This version of @code{gnus-uu} generally assumes that you mark
5727 articles in some way (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}) and then press
5730 @vindex gnus-uu-notify-files
5731 Note: When trying to decode articles that have names matching
5732 @code{gnus-uu-notify-files}, which is hard-coded to
5733 @samp{[Cc][Ii][Nn][Dd][Yy][0-9]+.\\(gif\\|jpg\\)}, @code{gnus-uu} will
5734 automatically post an article on @samp{comp.unix.wizards} saying that
5735 you have just viewed the file in question. This feature can't be turned
5739 @node Shell Archives
5740 @subsection Shell Archives
5742 @cindex shell archives
5743 @cindex shared articles
5745 Shell archives (``shar files'') used to be a popular way to distribute
5746 sources, but it isn't used all that much today. In any case, we have
5747 some commands to deal with these:
5752 @kindex X s (Summary)
5753 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar
5754 Unshars the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar}).
5757 @kindex X S (Summary)
5758 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save
5759 Unshars and saves the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save}).
5762 @kindex X v s (Summary)
5763 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view
5764 Unshars and views the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-view}).
5767 @kindex X v S (Summary)
5768 @findex gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view
5769 Unshars, views and saves the current series
5770 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-unshar-and-save-view}).
5774 @node PostScript Files
5775 @subsection PostScript Files
5781 @kindex X p (Summary)
5782 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript
5783 Unpack the current PostScript series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript}).
5786 @kindex X P (Summary)
5787 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save
5788 Unpack and save the current PostScript series
5789 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save}).
5792 @kindex X v p (Summary)
5793 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view
5794 View the current PostScript series
5795 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-view}).
5798 @kindex X v P (Summary)
5799 @findex gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view
5800 View and save the current PostScript series
5801 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-postscript-and-save-view}).
5806 @subsection Other Files
5810 @kindex X o (Summary)
5811 @findex gnus-uu-decode-save
5812 Save the current series
5813 (@code{gnus-uu-decode-save}).
5816 @kindex X b (Summary)
5817 @findex gnus-uu-decode-binhex
5818 Unbinhex the current series (@code{gnus-uu-decode-binhex}). This
5819 doesn't really work yet.
5823 @node Decoding Variables
5824 @subsection Decoding Variables
5826 Adjective, not verb.
5829 * Rule Variables:: Variables that say how a file is to be viewed.
5830 * Other Decode Variables:: Other decode variables.
5831 * Uuencoding and Posting:: Variables for customizing uuencoding.
5835 @node Rule Variables
5836 @subsubsection Rule Variables
5837 @cindex rule variables
5839 Gnus uses @dfn{rule variables} to decide how to view a file. All these
5840 variables are of the form
5843 (list '(regexp1 command2)
5850 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5851 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5853 This variable is consulted first when viewing files. If you wish to use,
5854 for instance, @code{sox} to convert an @samp{.au} sound file, you could
5857 (setq gnus-uu-user-view-rules
5858 (list '(\"\\\\.au$\" \"sox %s -t .aiff > /dev/audio\")))
5861 @item gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5862 @vindex gnus-uu-user-view-rules-end
5863 This variable is consulted if gnus couldn't make any matches from the
5864 user and default view rules.
5866 @item gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5867 @vindex gnus-uu-user-archive-rules
5868 This variable can be used to say what commands should be used to unpack
5873 @node Other Decode Variables
5874 @subsubsection Other Decode Variables
5877 @vindex gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5879 @item gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions
5880 All functions in this list will be called right after each file has been
5881 successfully decoded---so that you can move or view files right away,
5882 and don't have to wait for all files to be decoded before you can do
5883 anything. Ready-made functions you can put in this list are:
5887 @item gnus-uu-grab-view
5888 @findex gnus-uu-grab-view
5891 @item gnus-uu-grab-move
5892 @findex gnus-uu-grab-move
5893 Move the file (if you're using a saving function.)
5896 @item gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5897 @vindex gnus-uu-be-dangerous
5898 Specifies what to do if unusual situations arise during decoding. If
5899 @code{nil}, be as conservative as possible. If @code{t}, ignore things
5900 that didn't work, and overwrite existing files. Otherwise, ask each
5903 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5904 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-name
5905 Files with name matching this regular expression won't be viewed.
5907 @item gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5908 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-files-by-type
5909 Files with a @sc{mime} type matching this variable won't be viewed.
5910 Note that Gnus tries to guess what type the file is based on the name.
5911 @code{gnus-uu} is not a @sc{mime} package (yet), so this is slightly
5914 @item gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5915 @vindex gnus-uu-tmp-dir
5916 Where @code{gnus-uu} does its work.
5918 @item gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5919 @vindex gnus-uu-do-not-unpack-archives
5920 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} won't peek inside archives
5921 looking for files to display.
5923 @item gnus-uu-view-and-save
5924 @vindex gnus-uu-view-and-save
5925 Non-@code{nil} means that the user will always be asked to save a file
5928 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5929 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-view-rules
5930 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default viewing
5933 @item gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5934 @vindex gnus-uu-ignore-default-archive-rules
5935 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the default archive
5938 @item gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5939 @vindex gnus-uu-kill-carriage-return
5940 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will strip all carriage returns
5943 @item gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5944 @vindex gnus-uu-unmark-articles-not-decoded
5945 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will mark unsuccessfully
5946 decoded articles as unread.
5948 @item gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5949 @vindex gnus-uu-correct-stripped-uucode
5950 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will @emph{try} to fix
5951 uuencoded files that have had trailing spaces deleted.
5953 @item gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5954 @vindex gnus-uu-pre-uudecode-hook
5955 Hook run before sending a message to @code{uudecode}.
5957 @item gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5958 @vindex gnus-uu-view-with-metamail
5960 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ignore the viewing
5961 commands defined by the rule variables and just fudge a @sc{mime}
5962 content type based on the file name. The result will be fed to
5963 @code{metamail} for viewing.
5965 @item gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5966 @vindex gnus-uu-save-in-digest
5967 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu}, when asked to save without
5968 decoding, will save in digests. If this variable is @code{nil},
5969 @code{gnus-uu} will just save everything in a file without any
5970 embellishments. The digesting almost conforms to RFC1153---no easy way
5971 to specify any meaningful volume and issue numbers were found, so I
5972 simply dropped them.
5977 @node Uuencoding and Posting
5978 @subsubsection Uuencoding and Posting
5982 @item gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5983 @vindex gnus-uu-post-include-before-composing
5984 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will ask for a file to encode
5985 before you compose the article. If this variable is @code{t}, you can
5986 either include an encoded file with @kbd{C-c C-i} or have one included
5987 for you when you post the article.
5989 @item gnus-uu-post-length
5990 @vindex gnus-uu-post-length
5991 Maximum length of an article. The encoded file will be split into how
5992 many articles it takes to post the entire file.
5994 @item gnus-uu-post-threaded
5995 @vindex gnus-uu-post-threaded
5996 Non-@code{nil} means that @code{gnus-uu} will post the encoded file in a
5997 thread. This may not be smart, as no other decoder I have seen is able
5998 to follow threads when collecting uuencoded articles. (Well, I have
5999 seen one package that does that---@code{gnus-uu}, but somehow, I don't
6000 think that counts...) Default is @code{nil}.
6002 @item gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6003 @vindex gnus-uu-post-separate-description
6004 Non-@code{nil} means that the description will be posted in a separate
6005 article. The first article will typically be numbered (0/x). If this
6006 variable is @code{nil}, the description the user enters will be included
6007 at the beginning of the first article, which will be numbered (1/x).
6008 Default is @code{t}.
6014 @subsection Viewing Files
6015 @cindex viewing files
6016 @cindex pseudo-articles
6018 After decoding, if the file is some sort of archive, gnus will attempt
6019 to unpack the archive and see if any of the files in the archive can be
6020 viewed. For instance, if you have a gzipped tar file @file{pics.tar.gz}
6021 containing the files @file{pic1.jpg} and @file{pic2.gif}, gnus will
6022 uncompress and de-tar the main file, and then view the two pictures.
6023 This unpacking process is recursive, so if the archive contains archives
6024 of archives, it'll all be unpacked.
6026 Finally, gnus will normally insert a @dfn{pseudo-article} for each
6027 extracted file into the summary buffer. If you go to these
6028 ``articles'', you will be prompted for a command to run (usually Gnus
6029 will make a suggestion), and then the command will be run.
6031 @vindex gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously
6032 If @code{gnus-view-pseudo-asynchronously} is @code{nil}, Emacs will wait
6033 until the viewing is done before proceeding.
6035 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos
6036 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos} is @code{automatic}, Gnus will not insert
6037 the pseudo-articles into the summary buffer, but view them
6038 immediately. If this variable is @code{not-confirm}, the user won't even
6039 be asked for a confirmation before viewing is done.
6041 @vindex gnus-view-pseudos-separately
6042 If @code{gnus-view-pseudos-separately} is non-@code{nil}, one
6043 pseudo-article will be created for each file to be viewed. If
6044 @code{nil}, all files that use the same viewing command will be given as
6045 a list of parameters to that command.
6047 @vindex gnus-insert-pseudo-articles
6048 If @code{gnus-insert-pseudo-articles} is non-@code{nil}, insert
6049 pseudo-articles when decoding. It is @code{t} by default.
6051 So; there you are, reading your @emph{pseudo-articles} in your
6052 @emph{virtual newsgroup} from the @emph{virtual server}; and you think:
6053 Why isn't anything real anymore? How did we get here?
6056 @node Article Treatment
6057 @section Article Treatment
6059 Reading through this huge manual, you may have quite forgotten that the
6060 object of newsreaders is to actually, like, read what people have
6061 written. Reading articles. Unfortunately, people are quite bad at
6062 writing, so there are tons of functions and variables to make reading
6063 these articles easier.
6066 * Article Highlighting:: You want to make the article look like fruit salad.
6067 * Article Fontisizing:: Making emphasized text look nice.
6068 * Article Hiding:: You also want to make certain info go away.
6069 * Article Washing:: Lots of way-neat functions to make life better.
6070 * Article Buttons:: Click on URLs, Message-IDs, addresses and the like.
6071 * Article Date:: Grumble, UT!
6072 * Article Signature:: What is a signature?
6076 @node Article Highlighting
6077 @subsection Article Highlighting
6078 @cindex highlighting
6080 Not only do you want your article buffer to look like fruit salad, but
6081 you want it to look like technicolor fruit salad.
6086 @kindex W H a (Summary)
6087 @findex gnus-article-highlight
6088 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
6089 Do much highlighting of the current article
6090 (@code{gnus-article-highlight}). This function highlights header, cited
6091 text, the signature, and adds buttons to the body and the head.
6093 Most users would prefer using @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} in
6094 @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}) instead.
6095 This is a bit less agressive---it highlights only the headers, the
6096 signature and adds buttons.
6099 @kindex W H h (Summary)
6100 @findex gnus-article-highlight-headers
6101 @vindex gnus-header-face-alist
6102 Highlight the headers (@code{gnus-article-highlight-headers}). The
6103 highlighting will be done according to the @code{gnus-header-face-alist}
6104 variable, which is a list where each element has the form @var{(regexp
6105 name content)}. @var{regexp} is a regular expression for matching the
6106 header, @var{name} is the face used for highlighting the header name
6107 (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}) and @var{content} is the face for highlighting
6108 the header value. The first match made will be used. Note that
6109 @var{regexp} shouldn't have @samp{^} prepended---Gnus will add one.
6112 @kindex W H c (Summary)
6113 @findex gnus-article-highlight-citation
6114 Highlight cited text (@code{gnus-article-highlight-citation}).
6116 Some variables to customize the citation highlights:
6119 @vindex gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6121 @item gnus-cite-parse-max-size
6122 If the article size if bigger than this variable (which is 25000 by
6123 default), no citation highlighting will be performed.
6125 @item gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6126 @vindex gnus-cite-prefix-regexp
6127 Regexp matching the longest possible citation prefix on a line.
6129 @item gnus-cite-max-prefix
6130 @vindex gnus-cite-max-prefix
6131 Maximum possible length for a citation prefix (default 20).
6133 @item gnus-cite-face-list
6134 @vindex gnus-cite-face-list
6135 List of faces used for highlighting citations (@pxref{Faces and Fonts}).
6136 When there are citations from multiple articles in the same message,
6137 gnus will try to give each citation from each article its own face.
6138 This should make it easier to see who wrote what.
6140 @item gnus-supercite-regexp
6141 @vindex gnus-supercite-regexp
6142 Regexp matching normal Supercite attribution lines.
6144 @item gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6145 @vindex gnus-supercite-secondary-regexp
6146 Regexp matching mangled Supercite attribution lines.
6148 @item gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6149 @vindex gnus-cite-minimum-match-count
6150 Minimum number of identical prefixes we have to see before we believe
6151 that it's a citation.
6153 @item gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6154 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-prefix
6155 Regexp matching the beginning of an attribution line.
6157 @item gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6158 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-suffix
6159 Regexp matching the end of an attribution line.
6161 @item gnus-cite-attribution-face
6162 @vindex gnus-cite-attribution-face
6163 Face used for attribution lines. It is merged with the face for the
6164 cited text belonging to the attribution.
6170 @kindex W H s (Summary)
6171 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6172 @vindex gnus-signature-face
6173 @findex gnus-article-highlight-signature
6174 Highlight the signature (@code{gnus-article-highlight-signature}).
6175 Everything after @code{gnus-signature-separator} (@pxref{Article
6176 Signature}) in an article will be considered a signature and will be
6177 highlighted with @code{gnus-signature-face}, which is @code{italic} by
6182 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to highlight articles automatically.
6185 @node Article Fontisizing
6186 @subsection Article Fontisizing
6188 @cindex article emphasis
6190 @findex gnus-article-emphasize
6191 @kindex W e (Summary)
6192 People commonly add emphasis to words in news articles by writing things
6193 like @samp{_this_} or @samp{*this*}. Gnus can make this look nicer by
6194 running the article through the @kbd{W e}
6195 (@code{gnus-article-emphasize}) command.
6197 @vindex gnus-emphasis-alist
6198 How the emphasis is computed is controlled by the
6199 @code{gnus-emphasis-alist} variable. This is an alist where the first
6200 element is a regular expression to be matched. The second is a number
6201 that says what regular expression grouping is used to find the entire
6202 emphasized word. The third is a number that says what regexp grouping
6203 should be displayed and highlighted. (The text between these two
6204 groupings will be hidden.) The fourth is the face used for
6208 (setq gnus-article-emphasis
6209 '(("_\\(\\w+\\)_" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-underline)
6210 ("\\*\\(\\w+\\)\\*" 0 1 gnus-emphasis-bold)))
6213 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline
6214 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold
6215 @vindex gnus-emphasis-italic
6216 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold
6217 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-italic
6218 @vindex gnus-emphasis-bold-italic
6219 @vindex gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic
6220 By default, there are seven rules, and they use the following faces:
6221 @code{gnus-emphasis-bold}, @code{gnus-emphasis-italic},
6222 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline}, @code{gnus-emphasis-bold-italic},
6223 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-italic},
6224 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold}, and
6225 @code{gnus-emphasis-underline-bold-italic}.
6227 If you want to change these faces, you can either use @kbd{M-x
6228 customize}, or you can use @code{copy-face}. For instance, if you want
6229 to make @code{gnus-emphasis-italic} use a red face instead, you could
6233 (copy-face 'red 'gnus-emphasis-italic)
6236 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to fontize articles automatically.
6239 @node Article Hiding
6240 @subsection Article Hiding
6241 @cindex article hiding
6243 Or rather, hiding certain things in each article. There usually is much
6244 too much cruft in most articles.
6249 @kindex W W a (Summary)
6250 @findex gnus-article-hide
6251 Do quite a lot of hiding on the article buffer
6252 (@kbd{gnus-article-hide}). In particular, this function will hide
6253 headers, PGP, cited text and the signature.
6256 @kindex W W h (Summary)
6257 @findex gnus-article-hide-headers
6258 Hide headers (@code{gnus-article-hide-headers}). @xref{Hiding
6262 @kindex W W b (Summary)
6263 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
6264 Hide headers that aren't particularly interesting
6265 (@code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers}). @xref{Hiding Headers}.
6268 @kindex W W s (Summary)
6269 @findex gnus-article-hide-signature
6270 Hide signature (@code{gnus-article-hide-signature}). @xref{Article
6274 @kindex W W p (Summary)
6275 @findex gnus-article-hide-pgp
6276 @vindex gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook
6277 Hide @sc{pgp} signatures (@code{gnus-article-hide-pgp}). The
6278 @code{gnus-article-hide-pgp-hook} hook will be run after a @sc{pgp}
6279 signature has been hidden.
6282 @kindex W W P (Summary)
6283 @findex gnus-article-hide-pem
6284 Hide @sc{pem} (privacy enhanced messages) cruft
6285 (@code{gnus-article-hide-pem}).
6288 @kindex W W c (Summary)
6289 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation
6290 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation}). Some variables for
6291 customizing the hiding:
6295 @item gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6296 @itemx gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6297 @vindex gnus-cited-closed-text-button-line-format
6298 @vindex gnus-cited-opened-text-button-line-format
6299 Gnus adds buttons to show where the cited text has been hidden, and to
6300 allow toggle hiding the text. The format of the variable is specified
6301 by these format-like variable (@pxref{Formatting Variables}). These
6306 Start point of the hidden text.
6308 End point of the hidden text.
6310 Length of the hidden text.
6313 @item gnus-cited-lines-visible
6314 @vindex gnus-cited-lines-visible
6315 The number of lines at the beginning of the cited text to leave shown.
6320 @kindex W W C-c (Summary)
6321 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe
6323 Hide citation (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-maybe}) depending on the
6324 following two variables:
6327 @item gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6328 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-percentage
6329 If the cited text is of a bigger percentage than this variable (default
6330 50), hide the cited text.
6332 @item gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6333 @vindex gnus-cite-hide-absolute
6334 The cited text must have at least this length (default 10) before it
6339 @kindex W W C (Summary)
6340 @findex gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups
6341 Hide cited text in articles that aren't roots
6342 (@code{gnus-article-hide-citation-in-followups}). This isn't very
6343 useful as an interactive command, but might be a handy function to stick
6344 in @code{gnus-article-display-hook} (@pxref{Customizing Articles}).
6348 All these ``hiding'' commands are toggles, but if you give a negative
6349 prefix to these commands, they will show what they have previously
6350 hidden. If you give a positive prefix, they will always hide.
6352 Also @pxref{Article Highlighting} for further variables for
6353 citation customization.
6355 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to hide article elements
6359 @node Article Washing
6360 @subsection Article Washing
6362 @cindex article washing
6364 We call this ``article washing'' for a really good reason. Namely, the
6365 @kbd{A} key was taken, so we had to use the @kbd{W} key instead.
6367 @dfn{Washing} is defined by us as ``changing something from something to
6368 something else'', but normally results in something looking better.
6374 @kindex W l (Summary)
6375 @findex gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking
6376 Remove page breaks from the current article
6377 (@code{gnus-summary-stop-page-breaking}). @xref{Misc Article} for page
6381 @kindex W r (Summary)
6382 @findex gnus-summary-caesar-message
6383 @c @icon{gnus-summary-caesar-message}
6384 Do a Caesar rotate (rot13) on the article buffer
6385 (@code{gnus-summary-caesar-message}).
6386 Unreadable articles that tell you to read them with Caesar rotate or rot13.
6387 (Typically offensive jokes and such.)
6389 It's commonly called ``rot13'' because each letter is rotated 13
6390 positions in the alphabet, e. g. @samp{B} (letter #2) -> @samp{O} (letter
6391 #15). It is sometimes referred to as ``Caesar rotate'' because Caesar
6392 is rumored to have employed this form of, uh, somewhat weak encryption.
6395 @kindex W t (Summary)
6396 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-header
6397 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer
6398 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-header}).
6401 @kindex W v (Summary)
6402 @findex gnus-summary-verbose-header
6403 Toggle whether to display all headers in the article buffer permanently
6404 (@code{gnus-summary-verbose-header}).
6407 @kindex W m (Summary)
6408 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-mime
6409 Toggle whether to display the article as @sc{mime} message
6410 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-mime}).
6413 @kindex W o (Summary)
6414 @findex gnus-article-treat-overstrike
6415 Treat overstrike (@code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike}).
6418 @kindex W d (Summary)
6419 @findex gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes
6420 Treat M******** sm*rtq**t*s (@code{gnus-article-treat-dumbquotes}).
6423 @kindex W w (Summary)
6424 @findex gnus-article-fill-cited-article
6425 Do word wrap (@code{gnus-article-fill-cited-article}). If you use this
6426 function in @code{gnus-article-display-hook}, it should be run fairly
6427 late and certainly after any highlighting.
6429 You can give the command a numerical prefix to specify the width to use
6433 @kindex W c (Summary)
6434 @findex gnus-article-remove-cr
6435 Remove CR (i. e., @samp{^M}s on the end of the lines)
6436 (@code{gnus-article-remove-cr}).
6439 @kindex W f (Summary)
6441 @findex gnus-article-display-x-face
6442 @findex gnus-article-x-face-command
6443 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-command
6444 @vindex gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly
6450 Look for and display any X-Face headers
6451 (@code{gnus-article-display-x-face}). The command executed by this
6452 function is given by the @code{gnus-article-x-face-command} variable.
6453 If this variable is a string, this string will be executed in a
6454 sub-shell. If it is a function, this function will be called with the
6455 face as the argument. If the @code{gnus-article-x-face-too-ugly} (which
6456 is a regexp) matches the @code{From} header, the face will not be shown.
6457 The default action under Emacs is to fork off an @code{xv} to view the
6458 face; under XEmacs the default action is to display the face before the
6459 @code{From} header. (It's nicer if XEmacs has been compiled with X-Face
6460 support---that will make display somewhat faster. If there's no native
6461 X-Face support, Gnus will try to convert the @code{X-Face} header using
6462 external programs from the @code{pbmplus} package and friends.) If you
6463 want to have this function in the display hook, it should probably come
6467 @kindex W b (Summary)
6468 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons
6469 Add clickable buttons to the article (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons}).
6470 @xref{Article Buttons}
6473 @kindex W B (Summary)
6474 @findex gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head
6475 Add clickable buttons to the article headers
6476 (@code{gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head}).
6479 @kindex W E l (Summary)
6480 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines
6481 Remove all blank lines from the beginning of the article
6482 (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-blank-lines}).
6485 @kindex W E m (Summary)
6486 @findex gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines
6487 Replace all blank lines with empty lines and then all multiple empty
6488 lines with a single empty line.
6489 (@code{gnus-article-strip-multiple-blank-lines}).
6492 @kindex W E t (Summary)
6493 @findex gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines
6494 Remove all blank lines at the end of the article
6495 (@code{gnus-article-remove-trailing-blank-lines}).
6498 @kindex W E a (Summary)
6499 @findex gnus-article-strip-blank-lines
6500 Do all the three commands above
6501 (@code{gnus-article-strip-blank-lines}).
6504 @kindex W E A (Summary)
6505 @findex gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines
6506 Remove all blank lines
6507 (@code{gnus-article-strip-all-blank-lines}).
6510 @kindex W E s (Summary)
6511 @findex gnus-article-strip-leading-space
6512 Remove all white space from the beginning of all lines of the article
6513 body (@code{gnus-article-strip-leading-space}).
6517 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to wash articles automatically.
6520 @node Article Buttons
6521 @subsection Article Buttons
6524 People often include references to other stuff in articles, and it would
6525 be nice if Gnus could just fetch whatever it is that people talk about
6526 with the minimum of fuzz when you hit @kbd{RET} or use the middle mouse
6527 button on these references.
6529 Gnus adds @dfn{buttons} to certain standard references by default:
6530 Well-formed URLs, mail addresses and Message-IDs. This is controlled by
6531 two variables, one that handles article bodies and one that handles
6536 @item gnus-button-alist
6537 @vindex gnus-button-alist
6538 This is an alist where each entry has this form:
6541 (REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6547 All text that match this regular expression will be considered an
6548 external reference. Here's a typical regexp that matches embedded URLs:
6549 @samp{<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>}.
6552 Gnus has to know which parts of the matches is to be highlighted. This
6553 is a number that says what sub-expression of the regexp is to be
6554 highlighted. If you want it all highlighted, you use 0 here.
6557 This form will be @code{eval}ed, and if the result is non-@code{nil},
6558 this is considered a match. This is useful if you want extra sifting to
6559 avoid false matches.
6562 This function will be called when you click on this button.
6565 As with @var{button-par}, this is a sub-expression number, but this one
6566 says which part of the match is to be sent as data to @var{function}.
6570 So the full entry for buttonizing URLs is then
6573 ("<URL:\\([^\n\r>]*\\)>" 0 t gnus-button-url 1)
6576 @item gnus-header-button-alist
6577 @vindex gnus-header-button-alist
6578 This is just like the other alist, except that it is applied to the
6579 article head only, and that each entry has an additional element that is
6580 used to say what headers to apply the buttonize coding to:
6583 (HEADER REGEXP BUTTON-PAR USE-P FUNCTION DATA-PAR)
6586 @var{HEADER} is a regular expression.
6588 @item gnus-button-url-regexp
6589 @vindex gnus-button-url-regexp
6590 A regular expression that matches embedded URLs. It is used in the
6591 default values of the variables above.
6593 @item gnus-article-button-face
6594 @vindex gnus-article-button-face
6595 Face used on buttons.
6597 @item gnus-article-mouse-face
6598 @vindex gnus-article-mouse-face
6599 Face used when the mouse cursor is over a button.
6603 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to buttonize articles automatically.
6607 @subsection Article Date
6609 The date is most likely generated in some obscure timezone you've never
6610 heard of, so it's quite nice to be able to find out what the time was
6611 when the article was sent.
6616 @kindex W T u (Summary)
6617 @findex gnus-article-date-ut
6618 Display the date in UT (aka. GMT, aka ZULU)
6619 (@code{gnus-article-date-ut}).
6622 @kindex W T i (Summary)
6623 @findex gnus-article-date-iso8601
6625 Display the date in international format, aka. ISO 8601
6626 (@code{gnus-article-date-iso8601}).
6629 @kindex W T l (Summary)
6630 @findex gnus-article-date-local
6631 Display the date in the local timezone (@code{gnus-article-date-local}).
6634 @kindex W T s (Summary)
6635 @vindex gnus-article-time-format
6636 @findex gnus-article-date-user
6637 @findex format-time-string
6638 Display the date using a user-defined format
6639 (@code{gnus-article-date-user}). The format is specified by the
6640 @code{gnus-article-time-format} variable, and is a string that's passed
6641 to @code{format-time-string}. See the documentation of that variable
6642 for a list of possible format specs.
6645 @kindex W T e (Summary)
6646 @findex gnus-article-date-lapsed
6647 @findex gnus-start-date-timer
6648 @findex gnus-stop-date-timer
6649 Say how much time has elapsed between the article was posted and now
6650 (@code{gnus-article-date-lapsed}). If you want to have this line
6651 updated continually, you can put
6654 (gnus-start-date-timer)
6657 in your @file{.gnus.el} file, or you can run it off of some hook. If
6658 you want to stop the timer, you can use the @code{gnus-stop-date-timer}
6662 @kindex W T o (Summary)
6663 @findex gnus-article-date-original
6664 Display the original date (@code{gnus-article-date-original}). This can
6665 be useful if you normally use some other conversion function and are
6666 worried that it might be doing something totally wrong. Say, claiming
6667 that the article was posted in 1854. Although something like that is
6668 @emph{totally} impossible. Don't you trust me? *titter*
6672 @xref{Customizing Articles} for how to display the date in your
6673 preferred format automatically.
6676 @node Article Signature
6677 @subsection Article Signature
6679 @cindex article signature
6681 @vindex gnus-signature-separator
6682 Each article is divided into two parts---the head and the body. The
6683 body can be divided into a signature part and a text part. The variable
6684 that says what is to be considered a signature is
6685 @code{gnus-signature-separator}. This is normally the standard
6686 @samp{^-- $} as mandated by son-of-RFC 1036. However, many people use
6687 non-standard signature separators, so this variable can also be a list
6688 of regular expressions to be tested, one by one. (Searches are done
6689 from the end of the body towards the beginning.) One likely value is:
6692 (setq gnus-signature-separator
6693 '("^-- $" ; The standard
6694 "^-- *$" ; A common mangling
6695 "^-------*$" ; Many people just use a looong
6696 ; line of dashes. Shame!
6697 "^ *--------*$" ; Double-shame!
6698 "^________*$" ; Underscores are also popular
6699 "^========*$")) ; Pervert!
6702 The more permissive you are, the more likely it is that you'll get false
6705 @vindex gnus-signature-limit
6706 @code{gnus-signature-limit} provides a limit to what is considered a
6711 If it is an integer, no signature may be longer (in characters) than
6714 If it is a floating point number, no signature may be longer (in lines)
6717 If it is a function, the function will be called without any parameters,
6718 and if it returns @code{nil}, there is no signature in the buffer.
6720 If it is a string, it will be used as a regexp. If it matches, the text
6721 in question is not a signature.
6724 This variable can also be a list where the elements may be of the types
6725 listed above. Here's an example:
6728 (setq gnus-signature-limit
6729 '(200.0 "^---*Forwarded article"))
6732 This means that if there are more than 200 lines after the signature
6733 separator, or the text after the signature separator is matched by
6734 the regular expression @samp{^---*Forwarded article}, then it isn't a
6735 signature after all.
6738 @node Article Commands
6739 @section Article Commands
6746 @kindex A P (Summary)
6747 @vindex gnus-ps-print-hook
6748 @findex gnus-summary-print-article
6749 Generate and print a PostScript image of the article buffer
6750 (@code{gnus-summary-print-article}). @code{gnus-ps-print-hook} will be
6751 run just before printing the buffer.
6756 @node Summary Sorting
6757 @section Summary Sorting
6758 @cindex summary sorting
6760 You can have the summary buffer sorted in various ways, even though I
6761 can't really see why you'd want that.
6766 @kindex C-c C-s C-n (Summary)
6767 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-number
6768 Sort by article number (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-number}).
6771 @kindex C-c C-s C-a (Summary)
6772 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-author
6773 Sort by author (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-author}).
6776 @kindex C-c C-s C-s (Summary)
6777 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-subject
6778 Sort by subject (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-subject}).
6781 @kindex C-c C-s C-d (Summary)
6782 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-date
6783 Sort by date (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-date}).
6786 @kindex C-c C-s C-l (Summary)
6787 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-lines
6788 Sort by lines (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-lines}).
6791 @kindex C-c C-s C-i (Summary)
6792 @findex gnus-summary-sort-by-score
6793 Sort by score (@code{gnus-summary-sort-by-score}).
6796 These functions will work both when you use threading and when you don't
6797 use threading. In the latter case, all summary lines will be sorted,
6798 line by line. In the former case, sorting will be done on a
6799 root-by-root basis, which might not be what you were looking for. To
6800 toggle whether to use threading, type @kbd{T T} (@pxref{Thread
6804 @node Finding the Parent
6805 @section Finding the Parent
6806 @cindex parent articles
6807 @cindex referring articles
6812 @findex gnus-summary-refer-parent-article
6813 If you'd like to read the parent of the current article, and it is not
6814 displayed in the summary buffer, you might still be able to. That is,
6815 if the current group is fetched by @sc{nntp}, the parent hasn't expired
6816 and the @code{References} in the current article are not mangled, you
6817 can just press @kbd{^} or @kbd{A r}
6818 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-parent-article}). If everything goes well,
6819 you'll get the parent. If the parent is already displayed in the
6820 summary buffer, point will just move to this article.
6822 If given a positive numerical prefix, fetch that many articles back into
6823 the ancestry. If given a negative numerical prefix, fetch just that
6824 ancestor. So if you say @kbd{3 ^}, gnus will fetch the parent, the
6825 grandparent and the grandgrandparent of the current article. If you say
6826 @kbd{-3 ^}, gnus will only fetch the grandgrandparent of the current
6830 @findex gnus-summary-refer-references
6831 @kindex A R (Summary)
6832 Fetch all articles mentioned in the @code{References} header of the
6833 article (@code{gnus-summary-refer-references}).
6836 @findex gnus-summary-refer-thread
6837 @kindex A T (Summary)
6838 Display the full thread where the current article appears
6839 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-thread}). This command has to fetch all the
6840 headers in the current group to work, so it usually takes a while. If
6841 you do it often, you may consider setting @code{gnus-fetch-old-headers}
6842 to @code{invisible} (@pxref{Filling In Threads}). This won't have any
6843 visible effects normally, but it'll make this command work a whole lot
6844 faster. Of course, it'll make group entry somewhat slow.
6846 @vindex gnus-refer-thread-limit
6847 The @code{gnus-refer-thread-limit} variable says how many old (i. e.,
6848 articles before the first displayed in the current group) headers to
6849 fetch when doing this command. The default is 200. If @code{t}, all
6850 the available headers will be fetched. This variable can be overridden
6851 by giving the @kbd{A T} command a numerical prefix.
6854 @findex gnus-summary-refer-article
6855 @kindex M-^ (Summary)
6857 @cindex fetching by Message-ID
6858 You can also ask the @sc{nntp} server for an arbitrary article, no
6859 matter what group it belongs to. @kbd{M-^}
6860 (@code{gnus-summary-refer-article}) will ask you for a
6861 @code{Message-ID}, which is one of those long, hard-to-read thingies
6862 that look something like @samp{<38o6up$6f2@@hymir.ifi.uio.no>}. You
6863 have to get it all exactly right. No fuzzy searches, I'm afraid.
6866 The current select method will be used when fetching by
6867 @code{Message-ID} from non-news select method, but you can override this
6868 by giving this command a prefix.
6870 @vindex gnus-refer-article-method
6871 If the group you are reading is located on a backend that does not
6872 support fetching by @code{Message-ID} very well (like @code{nnspool}),
6873 you can set @code{gnus-refer-article-method} to an @sc{nntp} method. It
6874 would, perhaps, be best if the @sc{nntp} server you consult is the one
6875 updating the spool you are reading from, but that's not really
6878 Most of the mail backends support fetching by @code{Message-ID}, but do
6879 not do a particularly excellent job at it. That is, @code{nnmbox} and
6880 @code{nnbabyl} are able to locate articles from any groups, while
6881 @code{nnml} and @code{nnfolder} are only able to locate articles that
6882 have been posted to the current group. (Anything else would be too time
6883 consuming.) @code{nnmh} does not support this at all.
6886 @node Alternative Approaches
6887 @section Alternative Approaches
6889 Different people like to read news using different methods. This being
6890 gnus, we offer a small selection of minor modes for the summary buffers.
6893 * Pick and Read:: First mark articles and then read them.
6894 * Binary Groups:: Auto-decode all articles.
6899 @subsection Pick and Read
6900 @cindex pick and read
6902 Some newsreaders (like @code{nn} and, uhm, @code{Netnews} on VM/CMS) use
6903 a two-phased reading interface. The user first marks in a summary
6904 buffer the articles she wants to read. Then she starts reading the
6905 articles with just an article buffer displayed.
6907 @findex gnus-pick-mode
6908 @kindex M-x gnus-pick-mode
6909 Gnus provides a summary buffer minor mode that allows
6910 this---@code{gnus-pick-mode}. This basically means that a few process
6911 mark commands become one-keystroke commands to allow easy marking, and
6912 it provides one additional command for switching to the summary buffer.
6914 Here are the available keystrokes when using pick mode:
6919 @findex gnus-pick-article-or-thread
6920 Pick the article or thread on the current line
6921 (@code{gnus-pick-article-or-thread}). If the variable
6922 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key selects the
6923 entire thread when used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise,
6924 it selects just the article. If given a numerical prefix, go to that
6925 thread or article and pick it. (The line number is normally displayed
6926 at the beginning of the summary pick lines.)
6929 @kindex SPACE (Pick)
6930 @findex gnus-pick-next-page
6931 Scroll the summary buffer up one page (@code{gnus-pick-next-page}). If
6932 at the end of the buffer, start reading the picked articles.
6936 @findex gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread.
6937 Unpick the thread or article
6938 (@code{gnus-pick-unmark-article-or-thread}). If the variable
6939 @code{gnus-thread-hide-subtree} is true, then this key unpicks the
6940 thread if used at the first article of the thread. Otherwise it unpicks
6941 just the article. You can give this key a numerical prefix to unpick
6942 the thread or article at that line.
6946 @findex gnus-pick-start-reading
6947 @vindex gnus-pick-display-summary
6948 Start reading the picked articles (@code{gnus-pick-start-reading}). If
6949 given a prefix, mark all unpicked articles as read first. If
6950 @code{gnus-pick-display-summary} is non-@code{nil}, the summary buffer
6951 will still be visible when you are reading.
6955 All the normal summary mode commands are still available in the
6956 pick-mode, with the exception of @kbd{u}. However @kbd{!} is available
6957 which is mapped to the same function
6958 @code{gnus-summary-tick-article-forward}.
6960 If this sounds like a good idea to you, you could say:
6963 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
6966 @vindex gnus-pick-mode-hook
6967 @code{gnus-pick-mode-hook} is run in pick minor mode buffers.
6969 @vindex gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read
6970 If @code{gnus-mark-unpicked-articles-as-read} is non-@code{nil}, mark
6971 all unpicked articles as read. The default is @code{nil}.
6973 @vindex gnus-summary-pick-line-format
6974 The summary line format in pick mode is slightly different from the
6975 standard format. At the beginning of each line the line number is
6976 displayed. The pick mode line format is controlled by the
6977 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format} variable (@pxref{Formatting
6978 Variables}). It accepts the same format specs that
6979 @code{gnus-summary-line-format} does (@pxref{Summary Buffer Lines}).
6983 @subsection Binary Groups
6984 @cindex binary groups
6986 @findex gnus-binary-mode
6987 @kindex M-x gnus-binary-mode
6988 If you spend much time in binary groups, you may grow tired of hitting
6989 @kbd{X u}, @kbd{n}, @kbd{RET} all the time. @kbd{M-x gnus-binary-mode}
6990 is a minor mode for summary buffers that makes all ordinary Gnus article
6991 selection functions uudecode series of articles and display the result
6992 instead of just displaying the articles the normal way.
6995 @findex gnus-binary-show-article
6996 The only way, in fact, to see the actual articles is the @kbd{g}
6997 command, when you have turned on this mode
6998 (@code{gnus-binary-show-article}).
7000 @vindex gnus-binary-mode-hook
7001 @code{gnus-binary-mode-hook} is called in binary minor mode buffers.
7005 @section Tree Display
7008 @vindex gnus-use-trees
7009 If you don't like the normal gnus summary display, you might try setting
7010 @code{gnus-use-trees} to @code{t}. This will create (by default) an
7011 additional @dfn{tree buffer}. You can execute all summary mode commands
7014 There are a few variables to customize the tree display, of course:
7017 @item gnus-tree-mode-hook
7018 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-hook
7019 A hook called in all tree mode buffers.
7021 @item gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7022 @vindex gnus-tree-mode-line-format
7023 A format string for the mode bar in the tree mode buffers (@pxref{Mode
7024 Line Formatting}). The default is @samp{Gnus: %%b %S %Z}. For a list
7025 of valid specs, @pxref{Summary Buffer Mode Line}.
7027 @item gnus-selected-tree-face
7028 @vindex gnus-selected-tree-face
7029 Face used for highlighting the selected article in the tree buffer. The
7030 default is @code{modeline}.
7032 @item gnus-tree-line-format
7033 @vindex gnus-tree-line-format
7034 A format string for the tree nodes. The name is a bit of a misnomer,
7035 though---it doesn't define a line, but just the node. The default value
7036 is @samp{%(%[%3,3n%]%)}, which displays the first three characters of
7037 the name of the poster. It is vital that all nodes are of the same
7038 length, so you @emph{must} use @samp{%4,4n}-like specifiers.
7044 The name of the poster.
7046 The @code{From} header.
7048 The number of the article.
7050 The opening bracket.
7052 The closing bracket.
7057 @xref{Formatting Variables}.
7059 Variables related to the display are:
7062 @item gnus-tree-brackets
7063 @vindex gnus-tree-brackets
7064 This is used for differentiating between ``real'' articles and
7065 ``sparse'' articles. The format is @var{((real-open . real-close)
7066 (sparse-open . sparse-close) (dummy-open . dummy-close))}, and the
7067 default is @code{((?[ . ?]) (?( . ?)) (?@{ . ?@}) (?< . ?>))}.
7069 @item gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7070 @vindex gnus-tree-parent-child-edges
7071 This is a list that contains the characters used for connecting parent
7072 nodes to their children. The default is @code{(?- ?\\ ?|)}.
7076 @item gnus-tree-minimize-window
7077 @vindex gnus-tree-minimize-window
7078 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, gnus will try to keep the tree
7079 buffer as small as possible to allow more room for the other gnus
7080 windows. If this variable is a number, the tree buffer will never be
7081 higher than that number. The default is @code{t}. Note that if you
7082 have several windows displayed side-by-side in a frame and the tree
7083 buffer is one of these, minimizing the tree window will also resize all
7084 other windows displayed next to it.
7086 @item gnus-generate-tree-function
7087 @vindex gnus-generate-tree-function
7088 @findex gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7089 @findex gnus-generate-vertical-tree
7090 The function that actually generates the thread tree. Two predefined
7091 functions are available: @code{gnus-generate-horizontal-tree} and
7092 @code{gnus-generate-vertical-tree} (which is the default).
7096 Here's an example from a horizontal tree buffer:
7099 @{***@}-(***)-[odd]-[Gun]
7109 Here's the same thread displayed in a vertical tree buffer:
7113 |--------------------------\-----\-----\
7114 (***) [Bjo] [Gun] [Gun]
7116 [odd] [Jan] [odd] (***) [Jor]
7118 [Gun] [Eri] [Eri] [odd]
7123 If you're using horizontal trees, it might be nice to display the trees
7124 side-by-side with the summary buffer. You could add something like the
7125 following to your @file{.gnus.el} file:
7128 (setq gnus-use-trees t
7129 gnus-generate-tree-function 'gnus-generate-horizontal-tree
7130 gnus-tree-minimize-window nil)
7131 (gnus-add-configuration
7135 (summary 0.75 point)
7140 @xref{Windows Configuration}.
7143 @node Mail Group Commands
7144 @section Mail Group Commands
7145 @cindex mail group commands
7147 Some commands only make sense in mail groups. If these commands are
7148 invalid in the current group, they will raise a hell and let you know.
7150 All these commands (except the expiry and edit commands) use the
7151 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7156 @kindex B e (Summary)
7157 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles
7158 Expire all expirable articles in the group
7159 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles}).
7162 @kindex B M-C-e (Summary)
7163 @findex gnus-summary-expire-articles-now
7164 Delete all the expirable articles in the group
7165 (@code{gnus-summary-expire-articles-now}). This means that @strong{all}
7166 articles eligible for expiry in the current group will
7167 disappear forever into that big @file{/dev/null} in the sky.
7170 @kindex B DEL (Summary)
7171 @findex gnus-summary-delete-article
7172 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-delete}
7173 Delete the mail article. This is ``delete'' as in ``delete it from your
7174 disk forever and ever, never to return again.'' Use with caution.
7175 (@code{gnus-summary-delete-article}).
7178 @kindex B m (Summary)
7180 @findex gnus-summary-move-article
7181 Move the article from one mail group to another
7182 (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7185 @kindex B c (Summary)
7187 @findex gnus-summary-copy-article
7188 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-copy}
7189 Copy the article from one group (mail group or not) to a mail group
7190 (@code{gnus-summary-copy-article}).
7193 @kindex B B (Summary)
7194 @cindex crosspost mail
7195 @findex gnus-summary-crosspost-article
7196 Crosspost the current article to some other group
7197 (@code{gnus-summary-crosspost-article}). This will create a new copy of
7198 the article in the other group, and the Xref headers of the article will
7199 be properly updated.
7202 @kindex B i (Summary)
7203 @findex gnus-summary-import-article
7204 Import an arbitrary file into the current mail newsgroup
7205 (@code{gnus-summary-import-article}). You will be prompted for a file
7206 name, a @code{From} header and a @code{Subject} header.
7209 @kindex B r (Summary)
7210 @findex gnus-summary-respool-article
7211 Respool the mail article (@code{gnus-summary-move-article}).
7212 @code{gnus-summary-respool-default-method} will be used as the default
7213 select method when respooling. This variable is @code{nil} by default,
7214 which means that the current group select method will be used instead.
7218 @kindex B w (Summary)
7220 @findex gnus-summary-edit-article
7221 @kindex C-c C-c (Article)
7222 Edit the current article (@code{gnus-summary-edit-article}). To finish
7223 editing and make the changes permanent, type @kbd{C-c C-c}
7224 (@kbd{gnus-summary-edit-article-done}). If you give a prefix to the
7225 @kbd{C-c C-c} command, gnus won't re-highlight the article.
7228 @kindex B q (Summary)
7229 @findex gnus-summary-respool-query
7230 If you want to re-spool an article, you might be curious as to what group
7231 the article will end up in before you do the re-spooling. This command
7232 will tell you (@code{gnus-summary-respool-query}).
7235 @kindex B t (Summary)
7236 @findex gnus-summary-respool-trace
7237 Similarly, this command will display all fancy splitting patterns used
7238 when repooling, if any (@code{gnus-summary-respool-trace}).
7241 @kindex B p (Summary)
7242 @findex gnus-summary-article-posted-p
7243 Some people have a tendency to send you "courtesy" copies when they
7244 follow up to articles you have posted. These usually have a
7245 @code{Newsgroups} header in them, but not always. This command
7246 (@code{gnus-summary-article-posted-p}) will try to fetch the current
7247 article from your news server (or rather, from
7248 @code{gnus-refer-article-method} or @code{gnus-select-method}) and will
7249 report back whether it found the article or not. Even if it says that
7250 it didn't find the article, it may have been posted anyway---mail
7251 propagation is much faster than news propagation, and the news copy may
7252 just not have arrived yet.
7256 @vindex gnus-move-split-methods
7257 @cindex moving articles
7258 If you move (or copy) articles regularly, you might wish to have gnus
7259 suggest where to put the articles. @code{gnus-move-split-methods} is a
7260 variable that uses the same syntax as @code{gnus-split-methods}
7261 (@pxref{Saving Articles}). You may customize that variable to create
7262 suggestions you find reasonable.
7265 (setq gnus-move-split-methods
7266 '(("^From:.*Lars Magne" "nnml:junk")
7267 ("^Subject:.*gnus" "nnfolder:important")
7268 (".*" "nnml:misc")))
7272 @node Various Summary Stuff
7273 @section Various Summary Stuff
7276 * Summary Group Information:: Information oriented commands.
7277 * Searching for Articles:: Multiple article commands.
7278 * Summary Generation Commands:: (Re)generating the summary buffer.
7279 * Really Various Summary Commands:: Those pesky non-conformant commands.
7283 @vindex gnus-summary-mode-hook
7284 @item gnus-summary-mode-hook
7285 This hook is called when creating a summary mode buffer.
7287 @vindex gnus-summary-generate-hook
7288 @item gnus-summary-generate-hook
7289 This is called as the last thing before doing the threading and the
7290 generation of the summary buffer. It's quite convenient for customizing
7291 the threading variables based on what data the newsgroup has. This hook
7292 is called from the summary buffer after most summary buffer variables
7295 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7296 @item gnus-summary-prepare-hook
7297 It is called after the summary buffer has been generated. You might use
7298 it to, for instance, highlight lines or modify the look of the buffer in
7299 some other ungodly manner. I don't care.
7301 @vindex gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7302 @item gnus-summary-ignore-duplicates
7303 When gnus discovers two articles that have the same @code{Message-ID},
7304 it has to do something drastic. No articles are allowed to have the
7305 same @code{Message-ID}, but this may happen when reading mail from some
7306 sources. Gnus allows you to customize what happens with this variable.
7307 If it is @code{nil} (which is the default), gnus will rename the
7308 @code{Message-ID} (for display purposes only) and display the article as
7309 any other article. If this variable is @code{t}, it won't display the
7310 article---it'll be as if it never existed.
7315 @node Summary Group Information
7316 @subsection Summary Group Information
7321 @kindex H f (Summary)
7322 @findex gnus-summary-fetch-faq
7323 @vindex gnus-group-faq-directory
7324 Try to fetch the FAQ (list of frequently asked questions) for the
7325 current group (@code{gnus-summary-fetch-faq}). Gnus will try to get the
7326 FAQ from @code{gnus-group-faq-directory}, which is usually a directory
7327 on a remote machine. This variable can also be a list of directories.
7328 In that case, giving a prefix to this command will allow you to choose
7329 between the various sites. @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will probably
7330 be used for fetching the file.
7333 @kindex H d (Summary)
7334 @findex gnus-summary-describe-group
7335 Give a brief description of the current group
7336 (@code{gnus-summary-describe-group}). If given a prefix, force
7337 rereading the description from the server.
7340 @kindex H h (Summary)
7341 @findex gnus-summary-describe-briefly
7342 Give an extremely brief description of the most important summary
7343 keystrokes (@code{gnus-summary-describe-briefly}).
7346 @kindex H i (Summary)
7347 @findex gnus-info-find-node
7348 Go to the gnus info node (@code{gnus-info-find-node}).
7352 @node Searching for Articles
7353 @subsection Searching for Articles
7358 @kindex M-s (Summary)
7359 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-forward
7360 Search through all subsequent articles for a regexp
7361 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-forward}).
7364 @kindex M-r (Summary)
7365 @findex gnus-summary-search-article-backward
7366 Search through all previous articles for a regexp
7367 (@code{gnus-summary-search-article-backward}).
7371 @findex gnus-summary-execute-command
7372 This command will prompt you for a header field, a regular expression to
7373 match on this field, and a command to be executed if the match is made
7374 (@code{gnus-summary-execute-command}). If given a prefix, search
7378 @kindex M-& (Summary)
7379 @findex gnus-summary-universal-argument
7380 Perform any operation on all articles that have been marked with
7381 the process mark (@code{gnus-summary-universal-argument}).
7384 @node Summary Generation Commands
7385 @subsection Summary Generation Commands
7390 @kindex Y g (Summary)
7391 @findex gnus-summary-prepare
7392 Regenerate the current summary buffer (@code{gnus-summary-prepare}).
7395 @kindex Y c (Summary)
7396 @findex gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles
7397 Pull all cached articles (for the current group) into the summary buffer
7398 (@code{gnus-summary-insert-cached-articles}).
7403 @node Really Various Summary Commands
7404 @subsection Really Various Summary Commands
7409 @kindex C-d (Summary)
7410 @findex gnus-summary-enter-digest-group
7411 If the current article is a collection of other articles (for instance,
7412 a digest), you might use this command to enter a group based on the that
7413 article (@code{gnus-summary-enter-digest-group}). Gnus will try to
7414 guess what article type is currently displayed unless you give a prefix
7415 to this command, which forces a ``digest'' interpretation. Basically,
7416 whenever you see a message that is a collection of other messages of
7417 some format, you @kbd{C-d} and read these messages in a more convenient
7421 @kindex M-C-d (Summary)
7422 @findex gnus-summary-read-document
7423 This command is very similar to the one above, but lets you gather
7424 several documents into one biiig group
7425 (@code{gnus-summary-read-document}). It does this by opening several
7426 @code{nndoc} groups for each document, and then opening an
7427 @code{nnvirtual} group on top of these @code{nndoc} groups. This
7428 command understands the process/prefix convention
7429 (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
7432 @kindex C-t (Summary)
7433 @findex gnus-summary-toggle-truncation
7434 Toggle truncation of summary lines
7435 (@code{gnus-summary-toggle-truncation}). This will probably confuse the
7436 line centering function in the summary buffer, so it's not a good idea
7437 to have truncation switched off while reading articles.
7441 @findex gnus-summary-expand-window
7442 Expand the summary buffer window (@code{gnus-summary-expand-window}).
7443 If given a prefix, force an @code{article} window configuration.
7446 @kindex M-C-e (Summary)
7447 @findex gnus-summary-edit-parameters
7448 Edit the group parameters (@pxref{Group Parameters}) of the current
7449 group (@code{gnus-summary-edit-parameters}).
7454 @node Exiting the Summary Buffer
7455 @section Exiting the Summary Buffer
7456 @cindex summary exit
7457 @cindex exiting groups
7459 Exiting from the summary buffer will normally update all info on the
7460 group and return you to the group buffer.
7466 @kindex Z Z (Summary)
7468 @findex gnus-summary-exit
7469 @vindex gnus-summary-exit-hook
7470 @vindex gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook
7471 @c @icon{gnus-summary-exit}
7472 Exit the current group and update all information on the group
7473 (@code{gnus-summary-exit}). @code{gnus-summary-prepare-exit-hook} is
7474 called before doing much of the exiting, which calls
7475 @code{gnus-summary-expire-articles} by default.
7476 @code{gnus-summary-exit-hook} is called after finishing the exit
7477 process. @code{gnus-group-no-more-groups-hook} is run when returning to
7478 group mode having no more (unread) groups.
7482 @kindex Z E (Summary)
7484 @findex gnus-summary-exit-no-update
7485 Exit the current group without updating any information on the group
7486 (@code{gnus-summary-exit-no-update}).
7490 @kindex Z c (Summary)
7492 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit
7493 @c @icon{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}
7494 Mark all unticked articles in the group as read and then exit
7495 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-exit}).
7498 @kindex Z C (Summary)
7499 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit
7500 Mark all articles, even the ticked ones, as read and then exit
7501 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-all-and-exit}).
7504 @kindex Z n (Summary)
7505 @findex gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group
7506 Mark all articles as read and go to the next group
7507 (@code{gnus-summary-catchup-and-goto-next-group}).
7510 @kindex Z R (Summary)
7511 @findex gnus-summary-reselect-current-group
7512 Exit this group, and then enter it again
7513 (@code{gnus-summary-reselect-current-group}). If given a prefix, select
7514 all articles, both read and unread.
7518 @kindex Z G (Summary)
7519 @kindex M-g (Summary)
7520 @findex gnus-summary-rescan-group
7521 @c @icon{gnus-summary-mail-get}
7522 Exit the group, check for new articles in the group, and select the
7523 group (@code{gnus-summary-rescan-group}). If given a prefix, select all
7524 articles, both read and unread.
7527 @kindex Z N (Summary)
7528 @findex gnus-summary-next-group
7529 Exit the group and go to the next group
7530 (@code{gnus-summary-next-group}).
7533 @kindex Z P (Summary)
7534 @findex gnus-summary-prev-group
7535 Exit the group and go to the previous group
7536 (@code{gnus-summary-prev-group}).
7539 @kindex Z s (Summary)
7540 @findex gnus-summary-save-newsrc
7541 Save the current number of read/marked articles in the dribble buffer
7542 and then save the dribble buffer (@code{gnus-summary-save-newsrc}). If
7543 given a prefix, also save the @file{.newsrc} file(s). Using this
7544 command will make exit without updating (the @kbd{Q} command) worthless.
7547 @vindex gnus-exit-group-hook
7548 @code{gnus-exit-group-hook} is called when you exit the current
7551 @findex gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead
7552 @findex gnus-dead-summary-mode
7553 @vindex gnus-kill-summary-on-exit
7554 If you're in the habit of exiting groups, and then changing your mind
7555 about it, you might set @code{gnus-kill-summary-on-exit} to @code{nil}.
7556 If you do that, gnus won't kill the summary buffer when you exit it.
7557 (Quelle surprise!) Instead it will change the name of the buffer to
7558 something like @samp{*Dead Summary ... *} and install a minor mode
7559 called @code{gnus-dead-summary-mode}. Now, if you switch back to this
7560 buffer, you'll find that all keys are mapped to a function called
7561 @code{gnus-summary-wake-up-the-dead}. So tapping any keys in a dead
7562 summary buffer will result in a live, normal summary buffer.
7564 There will never be more than one dead summary buffer at any one time.
7566 @vindex gnus-use-cross-reference
7567 The data on the current group will be updated (which articles you have
7568 read, which articles you have replied to, etc.) when you exit the
7569 summary buffer. If the @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} variable is
7570 @code{t} (which is the default), articles that are cross-referenced to
7571 this group and are marked as read, will also be marked as read in the
7572 other subscribed groups they were cross-posted to. If this variable is
7573 neither @code{nil} nor @code{t}, the article will be marked as read in
7574 both subscribed and unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}).
7577 @node Crosspost Handling
7578 @section Crosspost Handling
7582 Marking cross-posted articles as read ensures that you'll never have to
7583 read the same article more than once. Unless, of course, somebody has
7584 posted it to several groups separately. Posting the same article to
7585 several groups (not cross-posting) is called @dfn{spamming}, and you are
7586 by law required to send nasty-grams to anyone who perpetrates such a
7587 heinous crime. You may want to try NoCeM handling to filter out spam
7590 Remember: Cross-posting is kinda ok, but posting the same article
7591 separately to several groups is not. Massive cross-posting (aka.
7592 @dfn{velveeta}) is to be avoided at all costs, and you can even use the
7593 @code{gnus-summary-mail-crosspost-complaint} command to complain about
7594 excessive crossposting (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
7596 @cindex cross-posting
7599 One thing that may cause Gnus to not do the cross-posting thing
7600 correctly is if you use an @sc{nntp} server that supports @sc{xover}
7601 (which is very nice, because it speeds things up considerably) which
7602 does not include the @code{Xref} header in its @sc{nov} lines. This is
7603 Evil, but all too common, alas, alack. Gnus tries to Do The Right Thing
7604 even with @sc{xover} by registering the @code{Xref} lines of all
7605 articles you actually read, but if you kill the articles, or just mark
7606 them as read without reading them, Gnus will not get a chance to snoop
7607 the @code{Xref} lines out of these articles, and will be unable to use
7608 the cross reference mechanism.
7610 @cindex LIST overview.fmt
7611 @cindex overview.fmt
7612 To check whether your @sc{nntp} server includes the @code{Xref} header
7613 in its overview files, try @samp{telnet your.nntp.server nntp},
7614 @samp{MODE READER} on @code{inn} servers, and then say @samp{LIST
7615 overview.fmt}. This may not work, but if it does, and the last line you
7616 get does not read @samp{Xref:full}, then you should shout and whine at
7617 your news admin until she includes the @code{Xref} header in the
7620 @vindex gnus-nov-is-evil
7621 If you want Gnus to get the @code{Xref}s right all the time, you have to
7622 set @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{t}, which slows things down
7627 For an alternative approach, @pxref{Duplicate Suppression}.
7630 @node Duplicate Suppression
7631 @section Duplicate Suppression
7633 By default, gnus tries to make sure that you don't have to read the same
7634 article more than once by utilizing the crossposting mechanism
7635 (@pxref{Crosspost Handling}). However, that simple and efficient
7636 approach may not work satisfactory for some users for various reasons.
7640 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to generate the @code{Xref} header. This
7641 is evil and not very common.
7644 The @sc{nntp} server may fail to include the @code{Xref} header in the
7645 @file{.overview} data bases. This is evil and all too common, alas.
7648 You may be reading the same group (or several related groups) from
7649 different @sc{nntp} servers.
7652 You may be getting mail that duplicates articles posted to groups.
7655 I'm sure there are other situations where @code{Xref} handling fails as
7656 well, but these four are the most common situations.
7658 If, and only if, @code{Xref} handling fails for you, then you may
7659 consider switching on @dfn{duplicate suppression}. If you do so, Gnus
7660 will remember the @code{Message-ID}s of all articles you have read or
7661 otherwise marked as read, and then, as if by magic, mark them as read
7662 all subsequent times you see them---in @emph{all} groups. Using this
7663 mechanism is quite likely to be somewhat inefficient, but not overly
7664 so. It's certainly preferable to reading the same articles more than
7667 Duplicate suppression is not a very subtle instrument. It's more like a
7668 sledge hammer than anything else. It works in a very simple
7669 fashion---if you have marked an article as read, it adds this Message-ID
7670 to a cache. The next time it sees this Message-ID, it will mark the
7671 article as read with the @samp{M} mark. It doesn't care what group it
7675 @item gnus-suppress-duplicates
7676 @vindex gnus-suppress-duplicates
7677 If non-@code{nil}, suppress duplicates.
7679 @item gnus-save-duplicate-list
7680 @vindex gnus-save-duplicate-list
7681 If non-@code{nil}, save the list of duplicates to a file. This will
7682 make startup and shutdown take longer, so the default is @code{nil}.
7683 However, this means that only duplicate articles read in a single gnus
7684 session are suppressed.
7686 @item gnus-duplicate-list-length
7687 @vindex gnus-duplicate-list-length
7688 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the duplicate
7689 suppression list. The default is 10000.
7691 @item gnus-duplicate-file
7692 @vindex gnus-duplicate-file
7693 The name of the file to store the duplicate suppression list in. The
7694 default is @file{~/News/suppression}.
7697 If you have a tendency to stop and start gnus often, setting
7698 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{t} is probably a good idea. If
7699 you leave gnus running for weeks on end, you may have it @code{nil}. On
7700 the other hand, saving the list makes startup and shutdown much slower,
7701 so that means that if you stop and start gnus often, you should set
7702 @code{gnus-save-duplicate-list} to @code{nil}. Uhm. I'll leave this up
7703 to you to figure out, I think.
7706 @node The Article Buffer
7707 @chapter The Article Buffer
7708 @cindex article buffer
7710 The articles are displayed in the article buffer, of which there is only
7711 one. All the summary buffers share the same article buffer unless you
7712 tell gnus otherwise.
7715 * Hiding Headers:: Deciding what headers should be displayed.
7716 * Using MIME:: Pushing to mime articles as @sc{mime} messages.
7717 * Customizing Articles:: Tailoring the look of the articles.
7718 * Article Keymap:: Keystrokes available in the article buffer.
7719 * Misc Article:: Other stuff.
7723 @node Hiding Headers
7724 @section Hiding Headers
7725 @cindex hiding headers
7726 @cindex deleting headers
7728 The top section of each article is the @dfn{head}. (The rest is the
7729 @dfn{body}, but you may have guessed that already.)
7731 @vindex gnus-show-all-headers
7732 There is a lot of useful information in the head: the name of the person
7733 who wrote the article, the date it was written and the subject of the
7734 article. That's well and nice, but there's also lots of information
7735 most people do not want to see---what systems the article has passed
7736 through before reaching you, the @code{Message-ID}, the
7737 @code{References}, etc. ad nauseum---and you'll probably want to get rid
7738 of some of those lines. If you want to keep all those lines in the
7739 article buffer, you can set @code{gnus-show-all-headers} to @code{t}.
7741 Gnus provides you with two variables for sifting headers:
7745 @item gnus-visible-headers
7746 @vindex gnus-visible-headers
7747 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, it should be a regular expression
7748 that says what headers you wish to keep in the article buffer. All
7749 headers that do not match this variable will be hidden.
7751 For instance, if you only want to see the name of the person who wrote
7752 the article and the subject, you'd say:
7755 (setq gnus-visible-headers "^From:\\|^Subject:")
7758 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7761 @item gnus-ignored-headers
7762 @vindex gnus-ignored-headers
7763 This variable is the reverse of @code{gnus-visible-headers}. If this
7764 variable is set (and @code{gnus-visible-headers} is @code{nil}), it
7765 should be a regular expression that matches all lines that you want to
7766 hide. All lines that do not match this variable will remain visible.
7768 For instance, if you just want to get rid of the @code{References} field
7769 and the @code{Xref} field, you might say:
7772 (setq gnus-ignored-headers "^References:\\|^Xref:")
7775 This variable can also be a list of regexps to match headers to
7778 Note that if @code{gnus-visible-headers} is non-@code{nil}, this
7779 variable will have no effect.
7783 @vindex gnus-sorted-header-list
7784 Gnus can also sort the headers for you. (It does this by default.) You
7785 can control the sorting by setting the @code{gnus-sorted-header-list}
7786 variable. It is a list of regular expressions that says in what order
7787 the headers are to be displayed.
7789 For instance, if you want the name of the author of the article first,
7790 and then the subject, you might say something like:
7793 (setq gnus-sorted-header-list '("^From:" "^Subject:"))
7796 Any headers that are to remain visible, but are not listed in this
7797 variable, will be displayed in random order after all the headers listed
7800 @findex gnus-article-hide-boring-headers
7801 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7802 @vindex gnus-boring-article-headers
7803 You can hide further boring headers by entering
7804 @code{gnus-article-hide-boring-headers} into
7805 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}. What this function does depends on
7806 the @code{gnus-boring-article-headers} variable. It's a list, but this
7807 list doesn't actually contain header names. Instead is lists various
7808 @dfn{boring conditions} that gnus can check and remove from sight.
7810 These conditions are:
7813 Remove all empty headers.
7815 Remove the @code{Followup-To} header if it is identical to the
7816 @code{Newsgroups} header.
7818 Remove the @code{Reply-To} header if it lists the same address as the
7821 Remove the @code{Newsgroups} header if it only contains the current group
7824 Remove the @code{Date} header if the article is less than three days
7827 Remove the @code{To} header if it is very long.
7829 Remove all @code{To} headers if there are more than one.
7832 To include the four three elements, you could say something like;
7835 (setq gnus-boring-article-headers
7836 '(empty followup-to reply-to))
7839 This is also the default value for this variable.
7843 @section Using @sc{mime}
7846 Mime is a standard for waving your hands through the air, aimlessly,
7847 while people stand around yawning.
7849 @sc{mime}, however, is a standard for encoding your articles, aimlessly,
7850 while all newsreaders die of fear.
7852 @sc{mime} may specify what character set the article uses, the encoding
7853 of the characters, and it also makes it possible to embed pictures and
7854 other naughty stuff in innocent-looking articles.
7856 @vindex gnus-show-mime
7857 @vindex gnus-article-display-method-for-mime
7858 @vindex gnus-strict-mime
7859 @findex gnus-article-display-mime-message
7860 Gnus handles @sc{mime} by pushing the articles through
7861 @code{gnus-article-display-method-for-mime}, which is
7862 @code{gnus-article-display-mime-message} by default. This function
7863 calls the SEMI MIME-View program to actually do the work. For more
7864 information on SEMI MIME-View, see its manual page (however it is not
7865 existed yet, sorry).
7867 Set @code{gnus-show-mime} to @code{t} if you want to use
7868 @sc{mime} all the time. However, if @code{gnus-strict-mime} is
7869 non-@code{nil}, the @sc{mime} method will only be used if there are
7870 @sc{mime} headers in the article. If you have @code{gnus-show-mime}
7871 set, then you'll see some unfortunate display glitches in the article
7872 buffer. These can't be avoided.
7874 In GNUS or Gnus, it might be best to just use the toggling functions
7875 from the summary buffer to avoid getting nasty surprises. (For instance,
7876 you enter the group @samp{alt.sing-a-long} and, before you know it,
7877 @sc{mime} has decoded the sound file in the article and some horrible
7878 sing-a-long song comes screaming out your speakers, and you can't find
7879 the volume button, because there isn't one, and people are starting to
7880 look at you, and you try to stop the program, but you can't, and you
7881 can't find the program to control the volume, and everybody else in the
7882 room suddenly decides to look at you disdainfully, and you'll feel
7885 Any similarity to real events and people is purely coincidental. Ahem.
7887 To avoid such kind of situation, gnus stops to use
7888 @code{metamail-buffer}. So now, you can set @code{gnus-show-mime} to
7889 non-@code{nil} every-time, then you can push button in the article
7890 buffer when there are nobody else.
7893 @node Customizing Articles
7894 @section Customizing Articles
7895 @cindex article customization
7897 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
7898 The @code{gnus-article-display-hook} is called after the article has
7899 been inserted into the article buffer. It is meant to handle all
7900 treatment of the article before it is displayed.
7902 @findex gnus-article-maybe-highlight
7903 @findex gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers
7904 By default this hook just contains
7905 @code{gnus-article-maybe-hide-headers},
7906 @code{gnus-hide-boring-headers}, @code{gnus-article-treat-overstrike},
7907 and @code{gnus-article-maybe-highlight} (and under XEmacs,
7908 @code{gnus-article-display-x-face}), but there are thousands, nay
7909 millions, of functions you can put in this hook. For an overview of
7910 functions @pxref{Article Highlighting}, @pxref{Article Hiding},
7911 @pxref{Article Washing}, @pxref{Article Buttons} and @pxref{Article
7912 Date}. Note that the order of functions in this hook might affect
7913 things, so you may have to fiddle a bit to get the desired results.
7915 You can, of course, write your own functions. The functions are called
7916 from the article buffer, and you can do anything you like, pretty much.
7917 There is no information that you have to keep in the buffer---you can
7918 change everything. However, you shouldn't delete any headers. Instead
7919 make them invisible if you want to make them go away.
7922 @node Article Keymap
7923 @section Article Keymap
7925 Most of the keystrokes in the summary buffer can also be used in the
7926 article buffer. They should behave as if you typed them in the summary
7927 buffer, which means that you don't actually have to have a summary
7928 buffer displayed while reading. You can do it all from the article
7931 A few additional keystrokes are available:
7936 @kindex SPACE (Article)
7937 @findex gnus-article-next-page
7938 Scroll forwards one page (@code{gnus-article-next-page}).
7941 @kindex DEL (Article)
7942 @findex gnus-article-prev-page
7943 Scroll backwards one page (@code{gnus-article-prev-page}).
7946 @kindex C-c ^ (Article)
7947 @findex gnus-article-refer-article
7948 If point is in the neighborhood of a @code{Message-ID} and you press
7949 @kbd{C-c ^}, Gnus will try to get that article from the server
7950 (@code{gnus-article-refer-article}).
7953 @kindex C-c C-m (Article)
7954 @findex gnus-article-mail
7955 Send a reply to the address near point (@code{gnus-article-mail}). If
7956 given a prefix, include the mail.
7960 @findex gnus-article-show-summary
7961 Reconfigure the buffers so that the summary buffer becomes visible
7962 (@code{gnus-article-show-summary}).
7966 @findex gnus-article-describe-briefly
7967 Give a very brief description of the available keystrokes
7968 (@code{gnus-article-describe-briefly}).
7971 @kindex TAB (Article)
7972 @findex gnus-article-next-button
7973 Go to the next button, if any (@code{gnus-article-next-button}). This
7974 only makes sense if you have buttonizing turned on.
7977 @kindex M-TAB (Article)
7978 @findex gnus-article-prev-button
7979 Go to the previous button, if any (@code{gnus-article-prev-button}).
7985 @section Misc Article
7989 @item gnus-single-article-buffer
7990 @vindex gnus-single-article-buffer
7991 If non-@code{nil}, use the same article buffer for all the groups.
7992 (This is the default.) If @code{nil}, each group will have its own
7995 @vindex gnus-article-prepare-hook
7996 @item gnus-article-prepare-hook
7997 This hook is called right after the article has been inserted into the
7998 article buffer. It is mainly intended for functions that do something
7999 depending on the contents; it should probably not be used for changing
8000 the contents of the article buffer.
8002 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
8003 @item gnus-article-display-hook
8004 This hook is called as the last thing when displaying an article, and is
8005 intended for modifying the contents of the buffer, doing highlights,
8006 hiding headers, and the like.
8008 @item gnus-article-mode-hook
8009 @vindex gnus-article-mode-hook
8010 Hook called in article mode buffers.
8012 @item gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8013 @vindex gnus-article-mode-syntax-table
8014 Syntax table used in article buffers. It is initialized from
8015 @code{text-mode-syntax-table}.
8017 @vindex gnus-article-mode-line-format
8018 @item gnus-article-mode-line-format
8019 This variable is a format string along the same lines as
8020 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format} (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}). It
8021 accepts the same format specifications as that variable, with one
8026 The @dfn{wash status} of the article. This is a short string with one
8027 character for each possible article wash operation that may have been
8031 @vindex gnus-break-pages
8033 @item gnus-break-pages
8034 Controls whether @dfn{page breaking} is to take place. If this variable
8035 is non-@code{nil}, the articles will be divided into pages whenever a
8036 page delimiter appears in the article. If this variable is @code{nil},
8037 paging will not be done.
8039 @item gnus-page-delimiter
8040 @vindex gnus-page-delimiter
8041 This is the delimiter mentioned above. By default, it is @samp{^L}
8046 @node Composing Messages
8047 @chapter Composing Messages
8048 @cindex composing messages
8051 @cindex sending mail
8056 @kindex C-c C-c (Post)
8057 All commands for posting and mailing will put you in a message buffer
8058 where you can edit the article all you like, before you send the article
8059 by pressing @kbd{C-c C-c}. @xref{Top, , Top, message, The Message
8060 Manual}. If you are in a foreign news group, and you wish to post the
8061 article using the foreign server, you can give a prefix to @kbd{C-c C-c}
8062 to make gnus try to post using the foreign server.
8065 * Mail:: Mailing and replying.
8066 * Post:: Posting and following up.
8067 * Posting Server:: What server should you post via?
8068 * Mail and Post:: Mailing and posting at the same time.
8069 * Archived Messages:: Where gnus stores the messages you've sent.
8070 * Posting Styles:: An easier way to specify who you are.
8071 * Drafts:: Postponing messages and rejected messages.
8072 * Rejected Articles:: What happens if the server doesn't like your article?
8075 Also see @pxref{Canceling and Superseding} for information on how to
8076 remove articles you shouldn't have posted.
8082 Variables for customizing outgoing mail:
8085 @item gnus-uu-digest-headers
8086 @vindex gnus-uu-digest-headers
8087 List of regexps to match headers included in digested messages. The
8088 headers will be included in the sequence they are matched.
8090 @item gnus-add-to-list
8091 @vindex gnus-add-to-list
8092 If non-@code{nil}, add a @code{to-list} group parameter to mail groups
8093 that have none when you do a @kbd{a}.
8101 Variables for composing news articles:
8104 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8105 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-file
8106 Gnus will keep a @code{Message-ID} history file of all the mails it has
8107 sent. If it discovers that it has already sent a mail, it will ask the
8108 user whether to re-send the mail. (This is primarily useful when
8109 dealing with @sc{soup} packets and the like where one is apt to send the
8110 same packet multiple times.) This variable says what the name of this
8111 history file is. It is @file{~/News/Sent-Message-IDs} by default. Set
8112 this variable to @code{nil} if you don't want gnus to keep a history
8115 @item gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8116 @vindex gnus-sent-message-ids-length
8117 This variable says how many @code{Message-ID}s to keep in the history
8118 file. It is 1000 by default.
8123 @node Posting Server
8124 @section Posting Server
8126 When you press those magical @kbd{C-c C-c} keys to ship off your latest
8127 (extremely intelligent, of course) article, where does it go?
8129 Thank you for asking. I hate you.
8131 @vindex gnus-post-method
8133 It can be quite complicated. Normally, gnus will use the same native
8134 server. However. If your native server doesn't allow posting, just
8135 reading, you probably want to use some other server to post your
8136 (extremely intelligent and fabulously interesting) articles. You can
8137 then set the @code{gnus-post-method} to some other method:
8140 (setq gnus-post-method '(nnspool ""))
8143 Now, if you've done this, and then this server rejects your article, or
8144 this server is down, what do you do then? To override this variable you
8145 can use a non-zero prefix to the @kbd{C-c C-c} command to force using
8146 the ``current'' server for posting.
8148 If you give a zero prefix (i.e., @kbd{C-u 0 C-c C-c}) to that command,
8149 gnus will prompt you for what method to use for posting.
8151 You can also set @code{gnus-post-method} to a list of select methods.
8152 If that's the case, gnus will always prompt you for what method to use
8155 Finally, if you want to always post using the same select method as
8156 you're reading from (which might be convenient if you're reading lots of
8157 groups from different private servers), you can set this variable to
8162 @section Mail and Post
8164 Here's a list of variables relevant to both mailing and
8168 @item gnus-mailing-list-groups
8169 @findex gnus-mailing-list-groups
8170 @cindex mailing lists
8172 If your news server offers groups that are really mailing lists
8173 gatewayed to the @sc{nntp} server, you can read those groups without
8174 problems, but you can't post/followup to them without some difficulty.
8175 One solution is to add a @code{to-address} to the group parameters
8176 (@pxref{Group Parameters}). An easier thing to do is set the
8177 @code{gnus-mailing-list-groups} to a regexp that matches the groups that
8178 really are mailing lists. Then, at least, followups to the mailing
8179 lists will work most of the time. Posting to these groups (@kbd{a}) is
8180 still a pain, though.
8184 You may want to do spell-checking on messages that you send out. Or, if
8185 you don't want to spell-check by hand, you could add automatic
8186 spell-checking via the @code{ispell} package:
8189 @findex ispell-message
8191 (add-hook 'message-send-hook 'ispell-message)
8195 @node Archived Messages
8196 @section Archived Messages
8197 @cindex archived messages
8198 @cindex sent messages
8200 Gnus provides a few different methods for storing the mail and news you
8201 send. The default method is to use the @dfn{archive virtual server} to
8202 store the messages. If you want to disable this completely, the
8203 @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable should be @code{nil}, which
8206 @vindex gnus-message-archive-method
8207 @code{gnus-message-archive-method} says what virtual server gnus is to
8208 use to store sent messages. The default is:
8212 (nnfolder-directory "~/Mail/archive")
8213 (nnfolder-active-file "~/Mail/archive/active")
8214 (nnfolder-get-new-mail nil)
8215 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t))
8218 You can, however, use any mail select method (@code{nnml},
8219 @code{nnmbox}, etc.). @code{nnfolder} is a quite likeable select method
8220 for doing this sort of thing, though. If you don't like the default
8221 directory chosen, you could say something like:
8224 (setq gnus-message-archive-method
8225 '(nnfolder "archive"
8226 (nnfolder-inhibit-expiry t)
8227 (nnfolder-active-file "~/News/sent-mail/active")
8228 (nnfolder-directory "~/News/sent-mail/")))
8231 @vindex gnus-message-archive-group
8233 Gnus will insert @code{Gcc} headers in all outgoing messages that point
8234 to one or more group(s) on that server. Which group to use is
8235 determined by the @code{gnus-message-archive-group} variable.
8237 This variable can be used to do the following:
8241 Messages will be saved in that group.
8242 @item a list of strings
8243 Messages will be saved in all those groups.
8244 @item an alist of regexps, functions and forms
8245 When a key ``matches'', the result is used.
8247 No message archiving will take place. This is the default.
8252 Just saving to a single group called @samp{MisK}:
8254 (setq gnus-message-archive-group "MisK")
8257 Saving to two groups, @samp{MisK} and @samp{safe}:
8259 (setq gnus-message-archive-group '("MisK" "safe"))
8262 Save to different groups based on what group you are in:
8264 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8265 '(("^alt" "sent-to-alt")
8266 ("mail" "sent-to-mail")
8267 (".*" "sent-to-misc")))
8272 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8273 '((if (message-news-p)
8278 How about storing all news messages in one file, but storing all mail
8279 messages in one file per month:
8282 (setq gnus-message-archive-group
8283 '((if (message-news-p)
8285 (concat "mail." (format-time-string
8286 "%Y-%m" (current-time))))))
8289 (XEmacs 19.13 doesn't have @code{format-time-string}, so you'll have to
8290 use a different value for @code{gnus-message-archive-group} there.)
8292 Now, when you send a message off, it will be stored in the appropriate
8293 group. (If you want to disable storing for just one particular message,
8294 you can just remove the @code{Gcc} header that has been inserted.) The
8295 archive group will appear in the group buffer the next time you start
8296 gnus, or the next time you press @kbd{F} in the group buffer. You can
8297 enter it and read the articles in it just like you'd read any other
8298 group. If the group gets really big and annoying, you can simply rename
8299 if (using @kbd{G r} in the group buffer) to something
8300 nice---@samp{misc-mail-september-1995}, or whatever. New messages will
8301 continue to be stored in the old (now empty) group.
8303 That's the default method of archiving sent messages. Gnus offers a
8304 different way for the people who don't like the default method. In that
8305 case you should set @code{gnus-message-archive-group} to @code{nil};
8306 this will disable archiving.
8309 @item gnus-outgoing-message-group
8310 @vindex gnus-outgoing-message-group
8311 All outgoing messages will be put in this group. If you want to store
8312 all your outgoing mail and articles in the group @samp{nnml:archive},
8313 you set this variable to that value. This variable can also be a list of
8316 If you want to have greater control over what group to put each
8317 message in, you can set this variable to a function that checks the
8318 current newsgroup name and then returns a suitable group name (or list
8321 This variable can be used instead of @code{gnus-message-archive-group},
8322 but the latter is the preferred method.
8326 @node Posting Styles
8327 @section Posting Styles
8328 @cindex posting styles
8331 All them variables, they make my head swim.
8333 So what if you want a different @code{Organization} and signature based
8334 on what groups you post to? And you post both from your home machine
8335 and your work machine, and you want different @code{From} lines, and so
8338 @vindex gnus-posting-styles
8339 One way to do stuff like that is to write clever hooks that change the
8340 variables you need to have changed. That's a bit boring, so somebody
8341 came up with the bright idea of letting the user specify these things in
8342 a handy alist. Here's an example of a @code{gnus-posting-styles}
8347 (signature "Peace and happiness")
8348 (organization "What me?"))
8350 (signature "Death to everybody"))
8351 ("comp.emacs.i-love-it"
8352 (organization "Emacs is it")))
8355 As you might surmise from this example, this alist consists of several
8356 @dfn{styles}. Each style will be applicable if the first element
8357 ``matches'', in some form or other. The entire alist will be iterated
8358 over, from the beginning towards the end, and each match will be
8359 applied, which means that attributes in later styles that match override
8360 the same attributes in earlier matching styles. So
8361 @samp{comp.programming.literate} will have the @samp{Death to everybody}
8362 signature and the @samp{What me?} @code{Organization} header.
8364 The first element in each style is called the @code{match}. If it's a
8365 string, then Gnus will try to regexp match it against the group name.
8366 If it's a function symbol, that function will be called with no
8367 arguments. If it's a variable symbol, then the variable will be
8368 referenced. If it's a list, then that list will be @code{eval}ed. In
8369 any case, if this returns a non-@code{nil} value, then the style is said
8372 Each style may contain a arbitrary amount of @dfn{attributes}. Each
8373 attribute consists of a @var{(name . value)} pair. The attribute name
8374 can be one of @code{signature}, @code{signature-file},
8375 @code{organization}, @code{address} or @code{name}. The attribute name
8376 can also be a string. In that case, this will be used as a header name,
8377 and the value will be inserted in the headers of the article.
8379 The attribute value can be a string (used verbatim), a function (the
8380 return value will be used), a variable (its value will be used) or a
8381 list (it will be @code{eval}ed and the return value will be used).
8383 So here's a new example:
8386 (setq gnus-posting-styles
8388 (signature-file "~/.signature")
8390 ("X-Home-Page" (getenv "WWW_HOME"))
8391 (organization "People's Front Against MWM"))
8393 (signature my-funny-signature-randomizer))
8394 ((equal (system-name) "gnarly")
8395 (signature my-quote-randomizer))
8396 (posting-from-work-p
8397 (signature-file "~/.work-signature")
8398 (address "user@@bar.foo")
8399 (organization "Important Work, Inc"))
8401 (signature-file "~/.mail-signature"))))
8409 If you are writing a message (mail or news) and suddenly remember that
8410 you have a steak in the oven (or some pesto in the food processor, you
8411 craaazy vegetarians), you'll probably wish there was a method to save
8412 the message you are writing so that you can continue editing it some
8413 other day, and send it when you feel its finished.
8415 Well, don't worry about it. Whenever you start composing a message of
8416 some sort using the gnus mail and post commands, the buffer you get will
8417 automatically associate to an article in a special @dfn{draft} group.
8418 If you save the buffer the normal way (@kbd{C-x C-s}, for instance), the
8419 article will be saved there. (Auto-save files also go to the draft
8423 @vindex nndraft-directory
8424 The draft group is a special group (which is implemented as an
8425 @code{nndraft} group, if you absolutely have to know) called
8426 @samp{nndraft:drafts}. The variable @code{nndraft-directory} says where
8427 @code{nndraft} is to store its files. What makes this group special is
8428 that you can't tick any articles in it or mark any articles as
8429 read---all articles in the group are permanently unread.
8431 If the group doesn't exist, it will be created and you'll be subscribed
8432 to it. The only way to make it disappear from the Group buffer is to
8435 @c @findex gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft
8436 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Mail)
8437 @c @kindex C-c M-d (Post)
8438 @c @findex gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft
8439 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Mail)
8440 @c @kindex C-c C-d (Post)
8441 @c If you're writing some super-secret message that you later want to
8442 @c encode with PGP before sending, you may wish to turn the auto-saving
8443 @c (and association with the draft group) off. You never know who might be
8444 @c interested in reading all your extremely valuable and terribly horrible
8445 @c and interesting secrets. The @kbd{C-c M-d}
8446 @c (@code{gnus-dissociate-buffer-from-draft}) command does that for you.
8447 @c If you change your mind and want to turn the auto-saving back on again,
8448 @c @kbd{C-c C-d} (@code{gnus-associate-buffer-with-draft} does that.
8450 @c @vindex gnus-use-draft
8451 @c To leave association with the draft group off by default, set
8452 @c @code{gnus-use-draft} to @code{nil}. It is @code{t} by default.
8454 @findex gnus-draft-edit-message
8456 When you want to continue editing the article, you simply enter the
8457 draft group and push @kbd{D e} (@code{gnus-draft-edit-message}) to do
8458 that. You will be placed in a buffer where you left off.
8460 Rejected articles will also be put in this draft group (@pxref{Rejected
8463 @findex gnus-draft-send-all-messages
8464 @findex gnus-draft-send-message
8465 If you have lots of rejected messages you want to post (or mail) without
8466 doing further editing, you can use the @kbd{D s} command
8467 (@code{gnus-draft-send-message}). This command understands the
8468 process/prefix convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}). The @kbd{D S}
8469 command (@code{gnus-draft-send-all-messages}) will ship off all messages
8472 If you have some messages that you wish not to send, you can use the
8473 @kbd{D t} (@code{gnus-draft-toggle-sending}) command to mark the message
8474 as unsendable. This is a toggling command.
8477 @node Rejected Articles
8478 @section Rejected Articles
8479 @cindex rejected articles
8481 Sometimes a news server will reject an article. Perhaps the server
8482 doesn't like your face. Perhaps it just feels miserable. Perhaps
8483 @emph{there be demons}. Perhaps you have included too much cited text.
8484 Perhaps the disk is full. Perhaps the server is down.
8486 These situations are, of course, totally beyond the control of gnus.
8487 (Gnus, of course, loves the way you look, always feels great, has angels
8488 fluttering around inside of it, doesn't care about how much cited text
8489 you include, never runs full and never goes down.) So gnus saves these
8490 articles until some later time when the server feels better.
8492 The rejected articles will automatically be put in a special draft group
8493 (@pxref{Drafts}). When the server comes back up again, you'd then
8494 typically enter that group and send all the articles off.
8497 @node Select Methods
8498 @chapter Select Methods
8499 @cindex foreign groups
8500 @cindex select methods
8502 A @dfn{foreign group} is a group not read by the usual (or
8503 default) means. It could be, for instance, a group from a different
8504 @sc{nntp} server, it could be a virtual group, or it could be your own
8505 personal mail group.
8507 A foreign group (or any group, really) is specified by a @dfn{name} and
8508 a @dfn{select method}. To take the latter first, a select method is a
8509 list where the first element says what backend to use (e.g. @code{nntp},
8510 @code{nnspool}, @code{nnml}) and the second element is the @dfn{server
8511 name}. There may be additional elements in the select method, where the
8512 value may have special meaning for the backend in question.
8514 One could say that a select method defines a @dfn{virtual server}---so
8515 we do just that (@pxref{The Server Buffer}).
8517 The @dfn{name} of the group is the name the backend will recognize the
8520 For instance, the group @samp{soc.motss} on the @sc{nntp} server
8521 @samp{some.where.edu} will have the name @samp{soc.motss} and select
8522 method @code{(nntp "some.where.edu")}. Gnus will call this group
8523 @samp{nntp+some.where.edu:soc.motss}, even though the @code{nntp}
8524 backend just knows this group as @samp{soc.motss}.
8526 The different methods all have their peculiarities, of course.
8529 * The Server Buffer:: Making and editing virtual servers.
8530 * Getting News:: Reading USENET news with Gnus.
8531 * Getting Mail:: Reading your personal mail with Gnus.
8532 * Other Sources:: Reading directories, files, SOUP packets.
8533 * Combined Groups:: Combining groups into one group.
8534 * Gnus Unplugged:: Reading news and mail offline.
8538 @node The Server Buffer
8539 @section The Server Buffer
8541 Traditionally, a @dfn{server} is a machine or a piece of software that
8542 one connects to, and then requests information from. Gnus does not
8543 connect directly to any real servers, but does all transactions through
8544 one backend or other. But that's just putting one layer more between
8545 the actual media and Gnus, so we might just as well say that each
8546 backend represents a virtual server.
8548 For instance, the @code{nntp} backend may be used to connect to several
8549 different actual @sc{nntp} servers, or, perhaps, to many different ports
8550 on the same actual @sc{nntp} server. You tell Gnus which backend to
8551 use, and what parameters to set by specifying a @dfn{select method}.
8553 These select method specifications can sometimes become quite
8554 complicated---say, for instance, that you want to read from the
8555 @sc{nntp} server @samp{news.funet.fi} on port number 13, which
8556 hangs if queried for @sc{nov} headers and has a buggy select. Ahem.
8557 Anyways, if you had to specify that for each group that used this
8558 server, that would be too much work, so Gnus offers a way of naming
8559 select methods, which is what you do in the server buffer.
8561 To enter the server buffer, use the @kbd{^}
8562 (@code{gnus-group-enter-server-mode}) command in the group buffer.
8565 * Server Buffer Format:: You can customize the look of this buffer.
8566 * Server Commands:: Commands to manipulate servers.
8567 * Example Methods:: Examples server specifications.
8568 * Creating a Virtual Server:: An example session.
8569 * Server Variables:: Which variables to set.
8570 * Servers and Methods:: You can use server names as select methods.
8571 * Unavailable Servers:: Some servers you try to contact may be down.
8574 @vindex gnus-server-mode-hook
8575 @code{gnus-server-mode-hook} is run when creating the server buffer.
8578 @node Server Buffer Format
8579 @subsection Server Buffer Format
8580 @cindex server buffer format
8582 @vindex gnus-server-line-format
8583 You can change the look of the server buffer lines by changing the
8584 @code{gnus-server-line-format} variable. This is a @code{format}-like
8585 variable, with some simple extensions:
8590 How the news is fetched---the backend name.
8593 The name of this server.
8596 Where the news is to be fetched from---the address.
8599 The opened/closed/denied status of the server.
8602 @vindex gnus-server-mode-line-format
8603 The mode line can also be customized by using the
8604 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format} variable (@pxref{Mode Line
8605 Formatting}). The following specs are understood:
8615 Also @pxref{Formatting Variables}.
8618 @node Server Commands
8619 @subsection Server Commands
8620 @cindex server commands
8626 @findex gnus-server-add-server
8627 Add a new server (@code{gnus-server-add-server}).
8631 @findex gnus-server-edit-server
8632 Edit a server (@code{gnus-server-edit-server}).
8635 @kindex SPACE (Server)
8636 @findex gnus-server-read-server
8637 Browse the current server (@code{gnus-server-read-server}).
8641 @findex gnus-server-exit
8642 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-server-exit}).
8646 @findex gnus-server-kill-server
8647 Kill the current server (@code{gnus-server-kill-server}).
8651 @findex gnus-server-yank-server
8652 Yank the previously killed server (@code{gnus-server-yank-server}).
8656 @findex gnus-server-copy-server
8657 Copy the current server (@code{gnus-server-copy-server}).
8661 @findex gnus-server-list-servers
8662 List all servers (@code{gnus-server-list-servers}).
8666 @findex gnus-server-scan-server
8667 Request that the server scan its sources for new articles
8668 (@code{gnus-server-scan-server}). This is mainly sensible with mail
8673 @findex gnus-server-regenerate-server
8674 Request that the server regenerate all its data structures
8675 (@code{gnus-server-regenerate-server}). This can be useful if you have
8676 a mail backend that has gotten out of synch.
8681 @node Example Methods
8682 @subsection Example Methods
8684 Most select methods are pretty simple and self-explanatory:
8687 (nntp "news.funet.fi")
8690 Reading directly from the spool is even simpler:
8696 As you can see, the first element in a select method is the name of the
8697 backend, and the second is the @dfn{address}, or @dfn{name}, if you
8700 After these two elements, there may be an arbitrary number of
8701 @var{(variable form)} pairs.
8703 To go back to the first example---imagine that you want to read from
8704 port 15 on that machine. This is what the select method should
8708 (nntp "news.funet.fi" (nntp-port-number 15))
8711 You should read the documentation to each backend to find out what
8712 variables are relevant, but here's an @code{nnmh} example:
8714 @code{nnmh} is a mail backend that reads a spool-like structure. Say
8715 you have two structures that you wish to access: One is your private
8716 mail spool, and the other is a public one. Here's the possible spec for
8720 (nnmh "private" (nnmh-directory "~/private/mail/"))
8723 (This server is then called @samp{private}, but you may have guessed
8726 Here's the method for a public spool:
8730 (nnmh-directory "/usr/information/spool/")
8731 (nnmh-get-new-mail nil))
8734 If you are behind a firewall and only have access to the @sc{nntp}
8735 server from the firewall machine, you can instruct Gnus to @code{rlogin}
8736 on the firewall machine and telnet from there to the @sc{nntp} server.
8737 Doing this can be rather fiddly, but your virtual server definition
8738 should probably look something like this:
8742 (nntp-address "the.firewall.machine")
8743 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8744 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8745 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8746 ("telnet" "the.real.nntp.host" "nntp")))
8749 If you want to use the wonderful @code{ssh} program to provide a
8750 compressed connection over the modem line, you could create a virtual
8751 server that would look something like this:
8755 (nntp-address "copper.uio.no")
8756 (nntp-rlogin-program "ssh")
8757 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-rlogin)
8758 (nntp-end-of-line "\n")
8759 (nntp-rlogin-parameters
8760 ("telnet" "news.uio.no" "nntp")))
8763 This means that you have to have set up @code{ssh-agent} correctly to
8764 provide automatic authorization, of course. And to get a compressed
8765 connection, you have to have the @samp{Compression} option in the
8766 @code{ssh} @file{config} file.
8769 @node Creating a Virtual Server
8770 @subsection Creating a Virtual Server
8772 If you're saving lots of articles in the cache by using persistent
8773 articles, you may want to create a virtual server to read the cache.
8775 First you need to add a new server. The @kbd{a} command does that. It
8776 would probably be best to use @code{nnspool} to read the cache. You
8777 could also use @code{nnml} or @code{nnmh}, though.
8779 Type @kbd{a nnspool RET cache RET}.
8781 You should now have a brand new @code{nnspool} virtual server called
8782 @samp{cache}. You now need to edit it to have the right definitions.
8783 Type @kbd{e} to edit the server. You'll be entered into a buffer that
8784 will contain the following:
8794 (nnspool-spool-directory "~/News/cache/")
8795 (nnspool-nov-directory "~/News/cache/")
8796 (nnspool-active-file "~/News/cache/active"))
8799 Type @kbd{C-c C-c} to return to the server buffer. If you now press
8800 @kbd{RET} over this virtual server, you should be entered into a browse
8801 buffer, and you should be able to enter any of the groups displayed.
8804 @node Server Variables
8805 @subsection Server Variables
8807 One sticky point when defining variables (both on backends and in Emacs
8808 in general) is that some variables are typically initialized from other
8809 variables when the definition of the variables is being loaded. If you
8810 change the "base" variable after the variables have been loaded, you
8811 won't change the "derived" variables.
8813 This typically affects directory and file variables. For instance,
8814 @code{nnml-directory} is @file{~/Mail/} by default, and all @code{nnml}
8815 directory variables are initialized from that variable, so
8816 @code{nnml-active-file} will be @file{~/Mail/active}. If you define a
8817 new virtual @code{nnml} server, it will @emph{not} suffice to set just
8818 @code{nnml-directory}---you have to explicitly set all the file
8819 variables to be what you want them to be. For a complete list of
8820 variables for each backend, see each backend's section later in this
8821 manual, but here's an example @code{nnml} definition:
8825 (nnml-directory "~/my-mail/")
8826 (nnml-active-file "~/my-mail/active")
8827 (nnml-newsgroups-file "~/my-mail/newsgroups"))
8831 @node Servers and Methods
8832 @subsection Servers and Methods
8834 Wherever you would normally use a select method
8835 (e.g. @code{gnus-secondary-select-method}, in the group select method,
8836 when browsing a foreign server) you can use a virtual server name
8837 instead. This could potentially save lots of typing. And it's nice all
8841 @node Unavailable Servers
8842 @subsection Unavailable Servers
8844 If a server seems to be unreachable, Gnus will mark that server as
8845 @code{denied}. That means that any subsequent attempt to make contact
8846 with that server will just be ignored. ``It can't be opened,'' Gnus
8847 will tell you, without making the least effort to see whether that is
8848 actually the case or not.
8850 That might seem quite naughty, but it does make sense most of the time.
8851 Let's say you have 10 groups subscribed to on server
8852 @samp{nephelococcygia.com}. This server is located somewhere quite far
8853 away from you and the machine is quite slow, so it takes 1 minute just
8854 to find out that it refuses connection to you today. If Gnus were to
8855 attempt to do that 10 times, you'd be quite annoyed, so Gnus won't
8856 attempt to do that. Once it has gotten a single ``connection refused'',
8857 it will regard that server as ``down''.
8859 So, what happens if the machine was only feeling unwell temporarily?
8860 How do you test to see whether the machine has come up again?
8862 You jump to the server buffer (@pxref{The Server Buffer}) and poke it
8863 with the following commands:
8869 @findex gnus-server-open-server
8870 Try to establish connection to the server on the current line
8871 (@code{gnus-server-open-server}).
8875 @findex gnus-server-close-server
8876 Close the connection (if any) to the server
8877 (@code{gnus-server-close-server}).
8881 @findex gnus-server-deny-server
8882 Mark the current server as unreachable
8883 (@code{gnus-server-deny-server}).
8886 @kindex M-o (Server)
8887 @findex gnus-server-open-all-servers
8888 Open the connections to all servers in the buffer
8889 (@code{gnus-server-open-all-servers}).
8892 @kindex M-c (Server)
8893 @findex gnus-server-close-all-servers
8894 Close the connections to all servers in the buffer
8895 (@code{gnus-server-close-all-servers}).
8899 @findex gnus-server-remove-denials
8900 Remove all marks to whether Gnus was denied connection from any servers
8901 (@code{gnus-server-remove-denials}).
8907 @section Getting News
8908 @cindex reading news
8909 @cindex news backends
8911 A newsreader is normally used for reading news. Gnus currently provides
8912 only two methods of getting news---it can read from an @sc{nntp} server,
8913 or it can read from a local spool.
8916 * NNTP:: Reading news from an @sc{nntp} server.
8917 * News Spool:: Reading news from the local spool.
8922 @subsection @sc{nntp}
8925 Subscribing to a foreign group from an @sc{nntp} server is rather easy.
8926 You just specify @code{nntp} as method and the address of the @sc{nntp}
8927 server as the, uhm, address.
8929 If the @sc{nntp} server is located at a non-standard port, setting the
8930 third element of the select method to this port number should allow you
8931 to connect to the right port. You'll have to edit the group info for
8932 that (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
8934 The name of the foreign group can be the same as a native group. In
8935 fact, you can subscribe to the same group from as many different servers
8936 you feel like. There will be no name collisions.
8938 The following variables can be used to create a virtual @code{nntp}
8943 @item nntp-server-opened-hook
8944 @vindex nntp-server-opened-hook
8945 @cindex @sc{mode reader}
8947 @cindex authentification
8948 @cindex nntp authentification
8949 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8950 @findex nntp-send-mode-reader
8951 is run after a connection has been made. It can be used to send
8952 commands to the @sc{nntp} server after it has been contacted. By
8953 default it sends the command @code{MODE READER} to the server with the
8954 @code{nntp-send-mode-reader} function. This function should always be
8955 present in this hook.
8957 @item nntp-authinfo-function
8958 @vindex nntp-authinfo-function
8959 @findex nntp-send-authinfo
8960 @vindex nntp-authinfo-file
8961 This function will be used to send @samp{AUTHINFO} to the @sc{nntp}
8962 server. The default function is @code{nntp-send-authinfo}, which looks
8963 through your @file{~/.authinfo} (or whatever you've set the
8964 @code{nntp-authinfo-file} variable to) for applicable entries. If none
8965 are found, it will prompt you for a login name and a password. The
8966 format of the @file{~/.authinfo} file is (almost) the same as the
8967 @code{ftp} @file{~/.netrc} file, which is defined in the @code{ftp}
8968 manual page, but here are the salient facts:
8972 The file contains one or more line, each of which define one server.
8975 Each line may contain an arbitrary number of token/value pairs. The
8976 valid tokens include @samp{machine}, @samp{login}, @samp{password},
8977 @samp{default} and @samp{force}. (The latter is not a valid
8978 @file{.netrc}/@code{ftp} token, which is the only way the
8979 @file{.authinfo} file format deviates from the @file{.netrc} file
8984 Here's an example file:
8987 machine news.uio.no login larsi password geheimnis
8988 machine nntp.ifi.uio.no login larsi force yes
8991 The token/value pairs may appear in any order; @samp{machine} doesn't
8992 have to be first, for instance.
8994 In this example, both login name and password have been supplied for the
8995 former server, while the latter has only the login name listed, and the
8996 user will be prompted for the password. The latter also has the
8997 @samp{force} tag, which means that the authinfo will be sent to the
8998 @var{nntp} server upon connection; the default (i.e., when there is not
8999 @samp{force} tag) is to not send authinfo to the @var{nntp} server
9000 until the @var{nntp} server asks for it.
9002 You can also add @samp{default} lines that will apply to all servers
9003 that don't have matching @samp{machine} lines.
9009 This will force sending @samp{AUTHINFO} commands to all servers not
9010 previously mentioned.
9012 Remember to not leave the @file{~/.authinfo} file world-readable.
9014 @item nntp-server-action-alist
9015 @vindex nntp-server-action-alist
9016 This is a list of regexps to match on server types and actions to be
9017 taken when matches are made. For instance, if you want Gnus to beep
9018 every time you connect to innd, you could say something like:
9021 (setq nntp-server-action-alist
9025 You probably don't want to do that, though.
9027 The default value is
9030 '(("nntpd 1\\.5\\.11t"
9031 (remove-hook 'nntp-server-opened-hook 'nntp-send-mode-reader)))
9034 This ensures that Gnus doesn't send the @code{MODE READER} command to
9035 nntpd 1.5.11t, since that command chokes that server, I've been told.
9037 @item nntp-maximum-request
9038 @vindex nntp-maximum-request
9039 If the @sc{nntp} server doesn't support @sc{nov} headers, this backend
9040 will collect headers by sending a series of @code{head} commands. To
9041 speed things up, the backend sends lots of these commands without
9042 waiting for reply, and then reads all the replies. This is controlled
9043 by the @code{nntp-maximum-request} variable, and is 400 by default. If
9044 your network is buggy, you should set this to 1.
9046 @c @item nntp-connection-timeout
9047 @c @vindex nntp-connection-timeout
9048 @c If you have lots of foreign @code{nntp} groups that you connect to
9049 @c regularly, you're sure to have problems with @sc{nntp} servers not
9050 @c responding properly, or being too loaded to reply within reasonable
9051 @c time. This is can lead to awkward problems, which can be helped
9052 @c somewhat by setting @code{nntp-connection-timeout}. This is an integer
9053 @c that says how many seconds the @code{nntp} backend should wait for a
9054 @c connection before giving up. If it is @code{nil}, which is the default,
9055 @c no timeouts are done.
9057 @c @item nntp-command-timeout
9058 @c @vindex nntp-command-timeout
9059 @c @cindex PPP connections
9060 @c @cindex dynamic IP addresses
9061 @c If you're running Gnus on a machine that has a dynamically assigned
9062 @c address, Gnus may become confused. If the address of your machine
9063 @c changes after connecting to the @sc{nntp} server, Gnus will simply sit
9064 @c waiting forever for replies from the server. To help with this
9065 @c unfortunate problem, you can set this command to a number. Gnus will
9066 @c then, if it sits waiting for a reply from the server longer than that
9067 @c number of seconds, shut down the connection, start a new one, and resend
9068 @c the command. This should hopefully be transparent to the user. A
9069 @c likely number is 30 seconds.
9071 @c @item nntp-retry-on-break
9072 @c @vindex nntp-retry-on-break
9073 @c If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you can also @kbd{C-g} if Gnus
9074 @c hangs. This will have much the same effect as the command timeout
9077 @item nntp-server-hook
9078 @vindex nntp-server-hook
9079 This hook is run as the last step when connecting to an @sc{nntp}
9082 @findex nntp-open-rlogin
9083 @findex nntp-open-telnet
9084 @findex nntp-open-network-stream
9085 @item nntp-open-connection-function
9086 @vindex nntp-open-connection-function
9087 This function is used to connect to the remote system. Four pre-made
9088 functions are supplied:
9091 @item nntp-open-network-stream
9092 This is the default, and simply connects to some port or other on the
9095 @item nntp-open-rlogin
9096 Does an @samp{rlogin} on the
9097 remote system, and then does a @samp{telnet} to the @sc{nntp} server
9100 @code{nntp-open-rlogin}-related variables:
9104 @item nntp-rlogin-program
9105 @vindex nntp-rlogin-program
9106 Program used to log in on remote machines. The default is @samp{rsh},
9107 but @samp{ssh} is a popular alternative.
9109 @item nntp-rlogin-parameters
9110 @vindex nntp-rlogin-parameters
9111 This list will be used as the parameter list given to @code{rsh}.
9113 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9114 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9115 User name on the remote system.
9119 @item nntp-open-telnet
9120 Does a @samp{telnet} to the remote system and then another @samp{telnet}
9121 to get to the @sc{nntp} server.
9123 @code{nntp-open-telnet}-related variables:
9126 @item nntp-telnet-command
9127 @vindex nntp-telnet-command
9128 Command used to start @code{telnet}.
9130 @item nntp-telnet-switches
9131 @vindex nntp-telnet-switches
9132 List of strings to be used as the switches to the @code{telnet} command.
9134 @item nntp-telnet-user-name
9135 @vindex nntp-telnet-user-name
9136 User name for log in on the remote system.
9138 @item nntp-telnet-passwd
9139 @vindex nntp-telnet-passwd
9140 Password to use when logging in.
9142 @item nntp-telnet-parameters
9143 @vindex nntp-telnet-parameters
9144 A list of strings executed as a command after logging in
9147 @item nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9148 @vindex nntp-telnet-shell-prompt
9149 Regexp matching the shell prompt on the remote machine. The default is
9150 @samp{bash\\|\$ *\r?$\\|> *\r?}.
9152 @item nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9153 @vindex nntp-open-telnet-envuser
9154 If non-@code{nil}, the @code{telnet} session (client and server both)
9155 will support the @code{ENVIRON} option and not prompt for login name.
9156 This works for Solaris @code{telnet}, for instance.
9160 @findex nntp-open-ssl-stream
9161 @item nntp-open-ssl-stream
9162 Opens a connection to a server over a @dfn{secure} channel. To use this
9163 you must have SSLay installed
9164 (@file{ftp://ftp.psy.uq.oz.au/pub/Crypto/SSL}, and you also need
9165 @file{ssl.el} (from the W3 distributeion, for instance). You then
9166 define a server as follows:
9169 ;; Type `C-c C-c' after you've finished editing.
9171 ;; "snews" is port 563 and is predefined in our /etc/services
9173 (nntp "snews.bar.com"
9174 (nntp-open-connection-function nntp-open-ssl-stream)
9175 (nntp-port-number "snews")
9176 (nntp-address "snews.bar.com"))
9181 @item nntp-end-of-line
9182 @vindex nntp-end-of-line
9183 String to use as end-of-line marker when talking to the @sc{nntp}
9184 server. This is @samp{\r\n} by default, but should be @samp{\n} when
9185 using @code{rlogin} to talk to the server.
9187 @item nntp-rlogin-user-name
9188 @vindex nntp-rlogin-user-name
9189 User name on the remote system when using the @code{rlogin} connect
9193 @vindex nntp-address
9194 The address of the remote system running the @sc{nntp} server.
9196 @item nntp-port-number
9197 @vindex nntp-port-number
9198 Port number to connect to when using the @code{nntp-open-network-stream}
9201 @item nntp-buggy-select
9202 @vindex nntp-buggy-select
9203 Set this to non-@code{nil} if your select routine is buggy.
9205 @item nntp-nov-is-evil
9206 @vindex nntp-nov-is-evil
9207 If the @sc{nntp} server does not support @sc{nov}, you could set this
9208 variable to @code{t}, but @code{nntp} usually checks automatically whether @sc{nov}
9211 @item nntp-xover-commands
9212 @vindex nntp-xover-commands
9215 List of strings used as commands to fetch @sc{nov} lines from a
9216 server. The default value of this variable is @code{("XOVER"
9220 @vindex nntp-nov-gap
9221 @code{nntp} normally sends just one big request for @sc{nov} lines to
9222 the server. The server responds with one huge list of lines. However,
9223 if you have read articles 2-5000 in the group, and only want to read
9224 article 1 and 5001, that means that @code{nntp} will fetch 4999 @sc{nov}
9225 lines that you will not need. This variable says how
9226 big a gap between two consecutive articles is allowed to be before the
9227 @code{XOVER} request is split into several request. Note that if your
9228 network is fast, setting this variable to a really small number means
9229 that fetching will probably be slower. If this variable is @code{nil},
9230 @code{nntp} will never split requests. The default is 5.
9232 @item nntp-prepare-server-hook
9233 @vindex nntp-prepare-server-hook
9234 A hook run before attempting to connect to an @sc{nntp} server.
9236 @item nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9237 @vindex nntp-warn-about-losing-connection
9238 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, some noise will be made when a
9239 server closes connection.
9241 @item nntp-record-commands
9242 @vindex nntp-record-commands
9243 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nntp} will log all commands it sends to the
9244 @sc{nntp} server (along with a timestep) in the @samp{*nntp-log*}
9245 buffer. This is useful if you are debugging a Gnus/@sc{nntp} connection
9246 that doesn't seem to work.
9252 @subsection News Spool
9256 Subscribing to a foreign group from the local spool is extremely easy,
9257 and might be useful, for instance, to speed up reading groups that
9258 contain very big articles---@samp{alt.binaries.pictures.furniture}, for
9261 Anyways, you just specify @code{nnspool} as the method and @code{""} (or
9262 anything else) as the address.
9264 If you have access to a local spool, you should probably use that as the
9265 native select method (@pxref{Finding the News}). It is normally faster
9266 than using an @code{nntp} select method, but might not be. It depends.
9267 You just have to try to find out what's best at your site.
9271 @item nnspool-inews-program
9272 @vindex nnspool-inews-program
9273 Program used to post an article.
9275 @item nnspool-inews-switches
9276 @vindex nnspool-inews-switches
9277 Parameters given to the inews program when posting an article.
9279 @item nnspool-spool-directory
9280 @vindex nnspool-spool-directory
9281 Where @code{nnspool} looks for the articles. This is normally
9282 @file{/usr/spool/news/}.
9284 @item nnspool-nov-directory
9285 @vindex nnspool-nov-directory
9286 Where @code{nnspool} will look for @sc{nov} files. This is normally
9287 @file{/usr/spool/news/over.view/}.
9289 @item nnspool-lib-dir
9290 @vindex nnspool-lib-dir
9291 Where the news lib dir is (@file{/usr/lib/news/} by default).
9293 @item nnspool-active-file
9294 @vindex nnspool-active-file
9295 The path to the active file.
9297 @item nnspool-newsgroups-file
9298 @vindex nnspool-newsgroups-file
9299 The path to the group descriptions file.
9301 @item nnspool-history-file
9302 @vindex nnspool-history-file
9303 The path to the news history file.
9305 @item nnspool-active-times-file
9306 @vindex nnspool-active-times-file
9307 The path to the active date file.
9309 @item nnspool-nov-is-evil
9310 @vindex nnspool-nov-is-evil
9311 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnspool} won't try to use any @sc{nov} files
9314 @item nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9315 @vindex nnspool-sift-nov-with-sed
9317 If non-@code{nil}, which is the default, use @code{sed} to get the
9318 relevant portion from the overview file. If nil, @code{nnspool} will
9319 load the entire file into a buffer and process it there.
9325 @section Getting Mail
9326 @cindex reading mail
9329 Reading mail with a newsreader---isn't that just plain WeIrD? But of
9333 * Getting Started Reading Mail:: A simple cookbook example.
9334 * Splitting Mail:: How to create mail groups.
9335 * Mail Backend Variables:: Variables for customizing mail handling.
9336 * Fancy Mail Splitting:: Gnus can do hairy splitting of incoming mail.
9337 * Mail and Procmail:: Reading mail groups that procmail create.
9338 * Incorporating Old Mail:: What about the old mail you have?
9339 * Expiring Mail:: Getting rid of unwanted mail.
9340 * Washing Mail:: Removing gruft from the mail you get.
9341 * Duplicates:: Dealing with duplicated mail.
9342 * Not Reading Mail:: Using mail backends for reading other files.
9343 * Choosing a Mail Backend:: Gnus can read a variety of mail formats.
9347 @node Getting Started Reading Mail
9348 @subsection Getting Started Reading Mail
9350 It's quite easy to use Gnus to read your new mail. You just plonk the
9351 mail backend of your choice into @code{gnus-secondary-select-methods},
9352 and things will happen automatically.
9354 For instance, if you want to use @code{nnml} (which is a "one file per
9355 mail" backend), you could put the following in your @file{.gnus} file:
9358 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods
9359 '((nnml "private")))
9362 Now, the next time you start Gnus, this backend will be queried for new
9363 articles, and it will move all the messages in your spool file to its
9364 directory, which is @code{~/Mail/} by default. The new group that will
9365 be created (@samp{mail.misc}) will be subscribed, and you can read it
9366 like any other group.
9368 You will probably want to split the mail into several groups, though:
9371 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9372 '(("junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9373 ("crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9377 This will result in three new @code{nnml} mail groups being created:
9378 @samp{nnml:junk}, @samp{nnml:crazy}, and @samp{nnml:other}. All the
9379 mail that doesn't fit into the first two groups will be placed in the
9382 This should be sufficient for reading mail with Gnus. You might want to
9383 give the other sections in this part of the manual a perusal, though.
9384 Especially @pxref{Choosing a Mail Backend} and @pxref{Expiring Mail}.
9387 @node Splitting Mail
9388 @subsection Splitting Mail
9389 @cindex splitting mail
9390 @cindex mail splitting
9392 @vindex nnmail-split-methods
9393 The @code{nnmail-split-methods} variable says how the incoming mail is
9394 to be split into groups.
9397 (setq nnmail-split-methods
9398 '(("mail.junk" "^From:.*Lars Ingebrigtsen")
9399 ("mail.crazy" "^Subject:.*die\\|^Organization:.*flabby")
9403 This variable is a list of lists, where the first element of each of
9404 these lists is the name of the mail group (they do not have to be called
9405 something beginning with @samp{mail}, by the way), and the second
9406 element is a regular expression used on the header of each mail to
9407 determine if it belongs in this mail group. The first string may
9408 contain @samp{\\1} forms, like the ones used by @code{replace-match} to
9409 insert sub-expressions from the matched text. For instance:
9412 ("list.\\1" "From:.*\\(.*\\)-list@@majordomo.com")
9415 The second element can also be a function. In that case, it will be
9416 called narrowed to the headers with the first element of the rule as the
9417 argument. It should return a non-@code{nil} value if it thinks that the
9418 mail belongs in that group.
9420 The last of these groups should always be a general one, and the regular
9421 expression should @emph{always} be @samp{} so that it matches any mails
9422 that haven't been matched by any of the other regexps. (These rules are
9423 processed from the beginning of the alist toward the end. The first
9424 rule to make a match will "win", unless you have crossposting enabled.
9425 In that case, all matching rules will "win".)
9427 If you like to tinker with this yourself, you can set this variable to a
9428 function of your choice. This function will be called without any
9429 arguments in a buffer narrowed to the headers of an incoming mail
9430 message. The function should return a list of group names that it
9431 thinks should carry this mail message.
9433 Note that the mail backends are free to maul the poor, innocent,
9434 incoming headers all they want to. They all add @code{Lines} headers;
9435 some add @code{X-Gnus-Group} headers; most rename the Unix mbox
9436 @code{From<SPACE>} line to something else.
9438 @vindex nnmail-crosspost
9439 The mail backends all support cross-posting. If several regexps match,
9440 the mail will be ``cross-posted'' to all those groups.
9441 @code{nnmail-crosspost} says whether to use this mechanism or not. Note
9442 that no articles are crossposted to the general (@samp{}) group.
9444 @vindex nnmail-crosspost-link-function
9447 @code{nnmh} and @code{nnml} makes crossposts by creating hard links to
9448 the crossposted articles. However, not all file systems support hard
9449 links. If that's the case for you, set
9450 @code{nnmail-crosspost-link-function} to @code{copy-file}. (This
9451 variable is @code{add-name-to-file} by default.)
9453 @kindex M-x nnmail-split-history
9454 @kindex nnmail-split-history
9455 If you wish to see where the previous mail split put the messages, you
9456 can use the @kbd{M-x nnmail-split-history} command.
9458 Gnus gives you all the opportunity you could possibly want for shooting
9459 yourself in the foot. Let's say you create a group that will contain
9460 all the mail you get from your boss. And then you accidentally
9461 unsubscribe from the group. Gnus will still put all the mail from your
9462 boss in the unsubscribed group, and so, when your boss mails you ``Have
9463 that report ready by Monday or you're fired!'', you'll never see it and,
9464 come Tuesday, you'll still believe that you're gainfully employed while
9465 you really should be out collecting empty bottles to save up for next
9469 @node Mail Backend Variables
9470 @subsection Mail Backend Variables
9472 These variables are (for the most part) pertinent to all the various
9476 @vindex nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9477 @item nnmail-read-incoming-hook
9478 The mail backends all call this hook after reading new mail. You can
9479 use this hook to notify any mail watch programs, if you want to.
9481 @vindex nnmail-spool-file
9482 @item nnmail-spool-file
9486 @vindex nnmail-pop-password
9487 @vindex nnmail-pop-password-required
9488 The backends will look for new mail in this file. If this variable is
9489 @code{nil}, the mail backends will never attempt to fetch mail by
9490 themselves. If you are using a POP mail server and your name is
9491 @samp{larsi}, you should set this variable to @samp{po:larsi}. If
9492 your name is not @samp{larsi}, you should probably modify that
9493 slightly, but you may have guessed that already, you smart & handsome
9494 devil! You can also set this variable to @code{pop}, and Gnus will try
9495 to figure out the POP mail string by itself. In any case, Gnus will
9496 call @code{movemail} which will contact the POP server named in the
9497 @code{MAILHOST} environment variable. If the POP server needs a
9498 password, you can either set @code{nnmail-pop-password-required} to
9499 @code{t} and be prompted for the password, or set
9500 @code{nnmail-pop-password} to the password itself.
9502 @code{nnmail-spool-file} can also be a list of mailboxes.
9504 Your Emacs has to have been configured with @samp{--with-pop} before
9505 compilation. This is the default, but some installations have it
9508 When you use a mail backend, Gnus will slurp all your mail from your
9509 inbox and plonk it down in your home directory. Gnus doesn't move any
9510 mail if you're not using a mail backend---you have to do a lot of magic
9511 invocations first. At the time when you have finished drawing the
9512 pentagram, lightened the candles, and sacrificed the goat, you really
9513 shouldn't be too surprised when Gnus moves your mail.
9515 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9516 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9517 @item nnmail-use-procmail
9518 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will look in
9519 @code{nnmail-procmail-directory} for incoming mail. All the files in
9520 that directory that have names ending in @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix}
9521 will be considered incoming mailboxes, and will be searched for new
9524 @vindex nnmail-crash-box
9525 @item nnmail-crash-box
9526 When a mail backend reads a spool file, mail is first moved to this
9527 file, which is @file{~/.gnus-crash-box} by default. If this file
9528 already exists, it will always be read (and incorporated) before any
9531 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9532 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
9533 This is run in a buffer that holds all the new incoming mail, and can be
9534 used for, well, anything, really.
9536 @vindex nnmail-split-hook
9537 @item nnmail-split-hook
9538 @findex article-decode-rfc1522
9539 @findex RFC1522 decoding
9540 Hook run in the buffer where the mail headers of each message is kept
9541 just before the splitting based on these headers is done. The hook is
9542 free to modify the buffer contents in any way it sees fit---the buffer
9543 is discarded after the splitting has been done, and no changes performed
9544 in the buffer will show up in any files. @code{gnus-article-decode-rfc1522}
9545 is one likely function to add to this hook.
9547 @vindex nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9548 @vindex nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9549 @item nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9550 @itemx nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook
9551 These are two useful hooks executed when treating new incoming
9552 mail---@code{nnmail-pre-get-new-mail-hook} (is called just before
9553 starting to handle the new mail) and
9554 @code{nnmail-post-get-new-mail-hook} (is called when the mail handling
9555 is done). Here's and example of using these two hooks to change the
9556 default file modes the new mail files get:
9559 (add-hook 'gnus-pre-get-new-mail-hook
9560 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 511)))
9562 (add-hook 'gnus-post-get-new-mail-hook
9563 (lambda () (set-default-file-modes 551)))
9566 @item nnmail-tmp-directory
9567 @vindex nnmail-tmp-directory
9568 This variable says where to move incoming mail to -- while processing
9569 it. This is usually done in the same directory that the mail backend
9570 inhabits (e.g., @file{~/Mail/}), but if this variable is non-@code{nil},
9571 it will be used instead.
9573 @item nnmail-movemail-program
9574 @vindex nnmail-movemail-program
9575 This program is executed to move mail from the user's inbox to her home
9576 directory. The default is @samp{movemail}.
9578 This can also be a function. In that case, the function will be called
9579 with two parameters -- the name of the inbox, and the file to be moved
9582 @item nnmail-delete-incoming
9583 @vindex nnmail-delete-incoming
9584 @cindex incoming mail files
9585 @cindex deleting incoming files
9586 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will delete the temporary incoming
9587 file after splitting mail into the proper groups. This is @code{t} by
9590 @c This is @code{nil} by
9591 @c default for reasons of security.
9593 @c Since Red Gnus is an alpha release, it is to be expected to lose mail.
9594 (No Gnus release since (ding) Gnus 0.10 (or something like that) have
9595 lost mail, I think, but that's not the point. (Except certain versions
9596 of Red Gnus.)) By not deleting the Incoming* files, one can be sure not
9597 to lose mail -- if Gnus totally whacks out, one can always recover what
9600 You may delete the @file{Incoming*} files at will.
9602 @item nnmail-use-long-file-names
9603 @vindex nnmail-use-long-file-names
9604 If non-@code{nil}, the mail backends will use long file and directory
9605 names. Groups like @samp{mail.misc} will end up in directories
9606 (assuming use of @code{nnml} backend) or files (assuming use of
9607 @code{nnfolder} backend) like @file{mail.misc}. If it is @code{nil},
9608 the same group will end up in @file{mail/misc}.
9610 @item nnmail-delete-file-function
9611 @vindex nnmail-delete-file-function
9613 Function called to delete files. It is @code{delete-file} by default.
9615 @item nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9616 @vindex nnmail-cache-accepted-message-ids
9617 If non-@code{nil}, put the @code{Message-ID}s of articles imported into
9618 the backend (via @code{Gcc}, for instance) into the mail duplication
9619 discovery cache. The default is @code{nil}.
9624 @node Fancy Mail Splitting
9625 @subsection Fancy Mail Splitting
9626 @cindex mail splitting
9627 @cindex fancy mail splitting
9629 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy
9630 @findex nnmail-split-fancy
9631 If the rather simple, standard method for specifying how to split mail
9632 doesn't allow you to do what you want, you can set
9633 @code{nnmail-split-methods} to @code{nnmail-split-fancy}. Then you can
9634 play with the @code{nnmail-split-fancy} variable.
9636 Let's look at an example value of this variable first:
9639 ;; Messages from the mailer daemon are not crossposted to any of
9640 ;; the ordinary groups. Warnings are put in a separate group
9641 ;; from real errors.
9642 (| ("from" mail (| ("subject" "warn.*" "mail.warning")
9644 ;; Non-error messages are crossposted to all relevant
9645 ;; groups, but we don't crosspost between the group for the
9646 ;; (ding) list and the group for other (ding) related mail.
9647 (& (| (any "ding@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "ding.list")
9648 ("subject" "ding" "ding.misc"))
9649 ;; Other mailing lists...
9650 (any "procmail@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "procmail.list")
9651 (any "SmartList@@informatik\\.rwth-aachen\\.de" "SmartList.list")
9653 (any "larsi@@ifi\\.uio\\.no" "people.Lars_Magne_Ingebrigtsen"))
9654 ;; Unmatched mail goes to the catch all group.
9658 This variable has the format of a @dfn{split}. A split is a (possibly)
9659 recursive structure where each split may contain other splits. Here are
9660 the five possible split syntaxes:
9665 @samp{group}: If the split is a string, that will be taken as a group
9666 name. Normal regexp match expansion will be done. See below for
9670 @var{(FIELD VALUE SPLIT)}: If the split is a list, the first element of
9671 which is a string, then store the message as specified by SPLIT, if
9672 header FIELD (a regexp) contains VALUE (also a regexp).
9675 @var{(| SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9676 @code{|} (vertical bar), then process each SPLIT until one of them
9677 matches. A SPLIT is said to match if it will cause the mail message to
9678 be stored in one or more groups.
9681 @var{(& SPLIT...)}: If the split is a list, and the first element is
9682 @code{&}, then process all SPLITs in the list.
9685 @code{junk}: If the split is the symbol @code{junk}, then don't save
9686 this message. Use with extreme caution.
9689 @var{(: function arg1 arg2 ...)}: If the split is a list, and the first
9690 element is @code{:}, then the second element will be called as a
9691 function with @var{args} given as arguments. The function should return
9695 @code{nil}: If the split is @code{nil}, it is ignored.
9699 In these splits, @var{FIELD} must match a complete field name.
9700 @var{VALUE} must match a complete word according to the fundamental mode
9701 syntax table. You can use @code{.*} in the regexps to match partial
9702 field names or words. In other words, all @var{VALUE}'s are wrapped in
9703 @samp{\<} and @samp{\>} pairs.
9705 @vindex nnmail-split-abbrev-alist
9706 @var{FIELD} and @var{VALUE} can also be lisp symbols, in that case they
9707 are expanded as specified by the variable
9708 @code{nnmail-split-abbrev-alist}. This is an alist of cons cells, where
9709 the @code{car} of a cell contains the key, and the @code{cdr} contains the associated
9712 @vindex nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table
9713 @code{nnmail-split-fancy-syntax-table} is the syntax table in effect
9714 when all this splitting is performed.
9716 If you want to have Gnus create groups dynamically based on some
9717 information in the headers (i.e., do @code{replace-match}-like
9718 substitutions in the group names), you can say things like:
9721 (any "debian-\\b\\(\\w+\\)@@lists.debian.org" "mail.debian.\\1")
9724 If the string contains the element @samp{\&}, then the previously
9725 matched string will be substituted. Similarly, the elements @samp{\1}
9726 up to @samp{\9} will be substituted with the text matched by the
9727 groupings 1 through 9.
9730 @node Mail and Procmail
9731 @subsection Mail and Procmail
9736 Many people use @code{procmail} (or some other mail filter program or
9737 external delivery agent---@code{slocal}, @code{elm}, etc) to split
9738 incoming mail into groups. If you do that, you should set
9739 @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{procmail} to ensure that the mail
9740 backends never ever try to fetch mail by themselves.
9742 If you have a combined @code{procmail}/POP/mailbox setup, you can do
9743 something like the following:
9745 @vindex nnmail-use-procmail
9747 (setq nnmail-use-procmail t)
9748 (setq nnmail-spool-file
9749 '("/usr/spool/mail/my-name" "po:my-name"))
9752 This also means that you probably don't want to set
9753 @code{nnmail-split-methods} either, which has some, perhaps, unexpected
9756 When a mail backend is queried for what groups it carries, it replies
9757 with the contents of that variable, along with any groups it has figured
9758 out that it carries by other means. None of the backends, except
9759 @code{nnmh}, actually go out to the disk and check what groups actually
9760 exist. (It's not trivial to distinguish between what the user thinks is
9761 a basis for a newsgroup and what is just a plain old file or directory.)
9763 This means that you have to tell Gnus (and the backends) by hand what
9766 Let's take the @code{nnmh} backend as an example:
9768 The folders are located in @code{nnmh-directory}, say, @file{~/Mail/}.
9769 There are three folders, @file{foo}, @file{bar} and @file{mail.baz}.
9771 Go to the group buffer and type @kbd{G m}. When prompted, answer
9772 @samp{foo} for the name and @samp{nnmh} for the method. Repeat
9773 twice for the two other groups, @samp{bar} and @samp{mail.baz}. Be sure
9774 to include all your mail groups.
9776 That's it. You are now set to read your mail. An active file for this
9777 method will be created automatically.
9779 @vindex nnmail-procmail-suffix
9780 @vindex nnmail-procmail-directory
9781 If you use @code{nnfolder} or any other backend that store more than a
9782 single article in each file, you should never have procmail add mails to
9783 the file that Gnus sees. Instead, procmail should put all incoming mail
9784 in @code{nnmail-procmail-directory}. To arrive at the file name to put
9785 the incoming mail in, append @code{nnmail-procmail-suffix} to the group
9786 name. The mail backends will read the mail from these files.
9788 @vindex nnmail-resplit-incoming
9789 When Gnus reads a file called @file{mail.misc.spool}, this mail will be
9790 put in the @code{mail.misc}, as one would expect. However, if you want
9791 Gnus to split the mail the normal way, you could set
9792 @code{nnmail-resplit-incoming} to @code{t}.
9794 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9795 If you use @code{procmail} to split things directly into an @code{nnmh}
9796 directory (which you shouldn't do), you should set
9797 @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} to non-@code{nil} to prevent Gnus from
9798 ever expiring the final article (i.e., the article with the highest
9799 article number) in a mail newsgroup. This is quite, quite important.
9801 Here's an example setup: The incoming spools are located in
9802 @file{~/incoming/} and have @samp{""} as suffixes (i.e., the incoming
9803 spool files have the same names as the equivalent groups). The
9804 @code{nnfolder} backend is to be used as the mail interface, and the
9805 @code{nnfolder} directory is @file{~/fMail/}.
9808 (setq nnfolder-directory "~/fMail/")
9809 (setq nnmail-spool-file 'procmail)
9810 (setq nnmail-procmail-directory "~/incoming/")
9811 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnfolder "")))
9812 (setq nnmail-procmail-suffix "")
9816 @node Incorporating Old Mail
9817 @subsection Incorporating Old Mail
9819 Most people have lots of old mail stored in various file formats. If
9820 you have set up Gnus to read mail using one of the spiffy Gnus mail
9821 backends, you'll probably wish to have that old mail incorporated into
9824 Doing so can be quite easy.
9826 To take an example: You're reading mail using @code{nnml}
9827 (@pxref{Mail Spool}), and have set @code{nnmail-split-methods} to a
9828 satisfactory value (@pxref{Splitting Mail}). You have an old Unix mbox
9829 file filled with important, but old, mail. You want to move it into
9830 your @code{nnml} groups.
9836 Go to the group buffer.
9839 Type `G f' and give the path to the mbox file when prompted to create an
9840 @code{nndoc} group from the mbox file (@pxref{Foreign Groups}).
9843 Type `SPACE' to enter the newly created group.
9846 Type `M P b' to process-mark all articles in this group's buffer
9847 (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
9850 Type `B r' to respool all the process-marked articles, and answer
9851 @samp{nnml} when prompted (@pxref{Mail Group Commands}).
9854 All the mail messages in the mbox file will now also be spread out over
9855 all your @code{nnml} groups. Try entering them and check whether things
9856 have gone without a glitch. If things look ok, you may consider
9857 deleting the mbox file, but I wouldn't do that unless I was absolutely
9858 sure that all the mail has ended up where it should be.
9860 Respooling is also a handy thing to do if you're switching from one mail
9861 backend to another. Just respool all the mail in the old mail groups
9862 using the new mail backend.
9866 @subsection Expiring Mail
9867 @cindex article expiry
9869 Traditional mail readers have a tendency to remove mail articles when
9870 you mark them as read, in some way. Gnus takes a fundamentally
9871 different approach to mail reading.
9873 Gnus basically considers mail just to be news that has been received in
9874 a rather peculiar manner. It does not think that it has the power to
9875 actually change the mail, or delete any mail messages. If you enter a
9876 mail group, and mark articles as ``read'', or kill them in some other
9877 fashion, the mail articles will still exist on the system. I repeat:
9878 Gnus will not delete your old, read mail. Unless you ask it to, of
9881 To make Gnus get rid of your unwanted mail, you have to mark the
9882 articles as @dfn{expirable}. This does not mean that the articles will
9883 disappear right away, however. In general, a mail article will be
9884 deleted from your system if, 1) it is marked as expirable, AND 2) it is
9885 more than one week old. If you do not mark an article as expirable, it
9886 will remain on your system until hell freezes over. This bears
9887 repeating one more time, with some spurious capitalizations: IF you do
9888 NOT mark articles as EXPIRABLE, Gnus will NEVER delete those ARTICLES.
9890 @vindex gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9891 You do not have to mark articles as expirable by hand. Groups that
9892 match the regular expression @code{gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups} will
9893 have all articles that you read marked as expirable automatically. All
9894 articles marked as expirable have an @samp{E} in the first
9895 column in the summary buffer.
9897 By default, if you have auto expiry switched on, Gnus will mark all the
9898 articles you read as expirable, no matter if they were read or unread
9899 before. To avoid having articles marked as read marked as expirable
9900 automatically, you can put something like the following in your
9903 @vindex gnus-mark-article-hook
9905 (remove-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook
9906 'gnus-summary-mark-read-and-unread-as-read)
9907 (add-hook 'gnus-mark-article-hook 'gnus-summary-mark-unread-as-read)
9910 Note that making a group auto-expirable doesn't mean that all read
9911 articles are expired---only the articles marked as expirable
9912 will be expired. Also note that using the @kbd{d} command won't make
9913 groups expirable---only semi-automatic marking of articles as read will
9914 mark the articles as expirable in auto-expirable groups.
9916 Let's say you subscribe to a couple of mailing lists, and you want the
9917 articles you have read to disappear after a while:
9920 (setq gnus-auto-expirable-newsgroups
9921 "mail.nonsense-list\\|mail.nice-list")
9924 Another way to have auto-expiry happen is to have the element
9925 @code{auto-expire} in the group parameters of the group.
9927 If you use adaptive scoring (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}) and
9928 auto-expiring, you'll have problems. Auto-expiring and adaptive scoring
9929 don't really mix very well.
9931 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait
9932 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable supplies the default time an
9933 expirable article has to live. Gnus starts counting days from when the
9934 message @emph{arrived}, not from when it was sent. The default is seven
9937 Gnus also supplies a function that lets you fine-tune how long articles
9938 are to live, based on what group they are in. Let's say you want to
9939 have one month expiry period in the @samp{mail.private} group, a one day
9940 expiry period in the @samp{mail.junk} group, and a six day expiry period
9943 @vindex nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9945 (setq nnmail-expiry-wait-function
9947 (cond ((string= group "mail.private")
9949 ((string= group "mail.junk")
9951 ((string= group "important")
9957 The group names this function is fed are ``unadorned'' group
9958 names---no @samp{nnml:} prefixes and the like.
9960 The @code{nnmail-expiry-wait} variable and
9961 @code{nnmail-expiry-wait-function} function can either be a number (not
9962 necessarily an integer) or one of the symbols @code{immediate} or
9965 You can also use the @code{expiry-wait} group parameter to selectively
9966 change the expiry period (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
9968 @vindex nnmail-keep-last-article
9969 If @code{nnmail-keep-last-article} is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will never
9970 expire the final article in a mail newsgroup. This is to make life
9971 easier for procmail users.
9973 @vindex gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups
9974 By the way: That line up there, about Gnus never expiring non-expirable
9975 articles, is a lie. If you put @code{total-expire} in the group
9976 parameters, articles will not be marked as expirable, but all read
9977 articles will be put through the expiry process. Use with extreme
9978 caution. Even more dangerous is the
9979 @code{gnus-total-expirable-newsgroups} variable. All groups that match
9980 this regexp will have all read articles put through the expiry process,
9981 which means that @emph{all} old mail articles in the groups in question
9982 will be deleted after a while. Use with extreme caution, and don't come
9983 crying to me when you discover that the regexp you used matched the
9984 wrong group and all your important mail has disappeared. Be a
9985 @emph{man}! Or a @emph{woman}! Whatever you feel more comfortable
9988 Most people make most of their mail groups total-expirable, though.
9992 @subsection Washing Mail
9993 @cindex mail washing
9994 @cindex list server brain damage
9995 @cindex incoming mail treatment
9997 Mailers and list servers are notorious for doing all sorts of really,
9998 really stupid things with mail. ``Hey, RFC822 doesn't explicitly
9999 prohibit us from adding the string @code{wE aRe ElItE!!!!!1!!} to the
10000 end of all lines passing through our server, so let's do that!!!!1!''
10001 Yes, but RFC822 wasn't designed to be read by morons. Things that were
10002 considered to be self-evident were not discussed. So. Here we are.
10004 Case in point: The German version of Microsoft Exchange adds @samp{AW:
10005 } to the subjects of replies instead of @samp{Re: }. I could pretend to
10006 be shocked and dismayed by this, but I haven't got the energy. It is to
10009 Gnus provides a plethora of functions for washing articles while
10010 displaying them, but it might be nicer to do the filtering before
10011 storing the mail to disc. For that purpose, we have three hooks and
10012 various functions that can be put in these hooks.
10015 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10016 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-hook
10017 This hook is called before doing anything with the mail and is meant for
10018 grand, sweeping gestures. Functions to be used include:
10021 @item nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10022 @findex nnheader-ms-strip-cr
10023 Remove trailing carriage returns from each line. This is default on
10024 Emacs running on MS machines.
10028 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10029 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-header-hook
10030 This hook is called narrowed to each header. It can be used when
10031 cleaning up the headers. Functions that can be used include:
10034 @item nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10035 @findex nnmail-remove-leading-whitespace
10036 Clear leading white space that ``helpful'' listservs have added to the
10037 headers to make them look nice. Aaah.
10039 @item nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10040 @findex nnmail-remove-list-identifiers
10041 Some list servers add an identifier---for example, @samp{(idm)}---to the
10042 beginning of all @code{Subject} headers. I'm sure that's nice for
10043 people who use stone age mail readers. This function will remove
10044 strings that match the @code{nnmail-list-identifiers} regexp, which can
10045 also be a list of regexp.
10047 For instance, if you want to remove the @samp{(idm)} and the
10048 @samp{nagnagnag} identifiers:
10051 (setq nnmail-list-identifiers
10052 '("(idm)" "nagnagnag"))
10055 @item nnmail-remove-tabs
10056 @findex nnmail-remove-tabs
10057 Translate all @samp{TAB} characters into @samp{SPACE} characters.
10061 @item nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10062 @vindex nnmail-prepare-incoming-message-hook
10063 This hook is called narrowed to each message. Functions to be used
10067 @item article-de-quoted-unreadable
10068 @findex article-de-quoted-unreadable
10069 Decode Quoted Readable encoding.
10076 @subsection Duplicates
10078 @vindex nnmail-treat-duplicates
10079 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-length
10080 @vindex nnmail-message-id-cache-file
10081 @cindex duplicate mails
10082 If you are a member of a couple of mailing lists, you will sometimes
10083 receive two copies of the same mail. This can be quite annoying, so
10084 @code{nnmail} checks for and treats any duplicates it might find. To do
10085 this, it keeps a cache of old @code{Message-ID}s---
10086 @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-file}, which is @file{~/.nnmail-cache} by
10087 default. The approximate maximum number of @code{Message-ID}s stored
10088 there is controlled by the @code{nnmail-message-id-cache-length}
10089 variable, which is 1000 by default. (So 1000 @code{Message-ID}s will be
10090 stored.) If all this sounds scary to you, you can set
10091 @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} to @code{warn} (which is what it is by
10092 default), and @code{nnmail} won't delete duplicate mails. Instead it
10093 will insert a warning into the head of the mail saying that it thinks
10094 that this is a duplicate of a different message.
10096 This variable can also be a function. If that's the case, the function
10097 will be called from a buffer narrowed to the message in question with
10098 the @code{Message-ID} as a parameter. The function must return either
10099 @code{nil}, @code{warn}, or @code{delete}.
10101 You can turn this feature off completely by setting the variable to
10104 If you want all the duplicate mails to be put into a special
10105 @dfn{duplicates} group, you could do that using the normal mail split
10109 (setq nnmail-split-fancy
10110 '(| ;; Messages duplicates go to a separate group.
10111 ("gnus-warning" "duplication of message" "duplicate")
10112 ;; Message from daemons, postmaster, and the like to another.
10113 (any mail "mail.misc")
10120 (setq nnmail-split-methods
10121 '(("duplicates" "^Gnus-Warning:")
10126 Here's a neat feature: If you know that the recipient reads her mail
10127 with Gnus, and that she has @code{nnmail-treat-duplicates} set to
10128 @code{delete}, you can send her as many insults as you like, just by
10129 using a @code{Message-ID} of a mail that you know that she's already
10130 received. Think of all the fun! She'll never see any of it! Whee!
10133 @node Not Reading Mail
10134 @subsection Not Reading Mail
10136 If you start using any of the mail backends, they have the annoying
10137 habit of assuming that you want to read mail with them. This might not
10138 be unreasonable, but it might not be what you want.
10140 If you set @code{nnmail-spool-file} to @code{nil}, none of the backends
10141 will ever attempt to read incoming mail, which should help.
10143 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10144 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10145 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10146 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10147 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10148 This might be too much, if, for instance, you are reading mail quite
10149 happily with @code{nnml} and just want to peek at some old @sc{rmail}
10150 file you have stashed away with @code{nnbabyl}. All backends have
10151 variables called backend-@code{get-new-mail}. If you want to disable
10152 the @code{nnbabyl} mail reading, you edit the virtual server for the
10153 group to have a setting where @code{nnbabyl-get-new-mail} to @code{nil}.
10155 All the mail backends will call @code{nn}*@code{-prepare-save-mail-hook}
10156 narrowed to the article to be saved before saving it when reading
10160 @node Choosing a Mail Backend
10161 @subsection Choosing a Mail Backend
10163 Gnus will read the mail spool when you activate a mail group. The mail
10164 file is first copied to your home directory. What happens after that
10165 depends on what format you want to store your mail in.
10168 * Unix Mail Box:: Using the (quite) standard Un*x mbox.
10169 * Rmail Babyl:: Emacs programs use the rmail babyl format.
10170 * Mail Spool:: Store your mail in a private spool?
10171 * MH Spool:: An mhspool-like backend.
10172 * Mail Folders:: Having one file for each group.
10176 @node Unix Mail Box
10177 @subsubsection Unix Mail Box
10179 @cindex unix mail box
10181 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10182 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10183 The @dfn{nnmbox} backend will use the standard Un*x mbox file to store
10184 mail. @code{nnmbox} will add extra headers to each mail article to say
10185 which group it belongs in.
10187 Virtual server settings:
10190 @item nnmbox-mbox-file
10191 @vindex nnmbox-mbox-file
10192 The name of the mail box in the user's home directory.
10194 @item nnmbox-active-file
10195 @vindex nnmbox-active-file
10196 The name of the active file for the mail box.
10198 @item nnmbox-get-new-mail
10199 @vindex nnmbox-get-new-mail
10200 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmbox} will read incoming mail and split it
10206 @subsubsection Rmail Babyl
10210 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10211 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10212 The @dfn{nnbabyl} backend will use a babyl mail box (aka. @dfn{rmail
10213 mbox}) to store mail. @code{nnbabyl} will add extra headers to each mail
10214 article to say which group it belongs in.
10216 Virtual server settings:
10219 @item nnbabyl-mbox-file
10220 @vindex nnbabyl-mbox-file
10221 The name of the rmail mbox file.
10223 @item nnbabyl-active-file
10224 @vindex nnbabyl-active-file
10225 The name of the active file for the rmail box.
10227 @item nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10228 @vindex nnbabyl-get-new-mail
10229 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnbabyl} will read incoming mail.
10234 @subsubsection Mail Spool
10236 @cindex mail @sc{nov} spool
10238 The @dfn{nnml} spool mail format isn't compatible with any other known
10239 format. It should be used with some caution.
10241 @vindex nnml-directory
10242 If you use this backend, Gnus will split all incoming mail into files,
10243 one file for each mail, and put the articles into the corresponding
10244 directories under the directory specified by the @code{nnml-directory}
10245 variable. The default value is @file{~/Mail/}.
10247 You do not have to create any directories beforehand; Gnus will take
10250 If you have a strict limit as to how many files you are allowed to store
10251 in your account, you should not use this backend. As each mail gets its
10252 own file, you might very well occupy thousands of inodes within a few
10253 weeks. If this is no problem for you, and it isn't a problem for you
10254 having your friendly systems administrator walking around, madly,
10255 shouting ``Who is eating all my inodes?! Who? Who!?!'', then you should
10256 know that this is probably the fastest format to use. You do not have
10257 to trudge through a big mbox file just to read your new mail.
10259 @code{nnml} is probably the slowest backend when it comes to article
10260 splitting. It has to create lots of files, and it also generates
10261 @sc{nov} databases for the incoming mails. This makes it the fastest
10262 backend when it comes to reading mail.
10264 Virtual server settings:
10267 @item nnml-directory
10268 @vindex nnml-directory
10269 All @code{nnml} directories will be placed under this directory.
10271 @item nnml-active-file
10272 @vindex nnml-active-file
10273 The active file for the @code{nnml} server.
10275 @item nnml-newsgroups-file
10276 @vindex nnml-newsgroups-file
10277 The @code{nnml} group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File
10280 @item nnml-get-new-mail
10281 @vindex nnml-get-new-mail
10282 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnml} will read incoming mail.
10284 @item nnml-nov-is-evil
10285 @vindex nnml-nov-is-evil
10286 If non-@code{nil}, this backend will ignore any @sc{nov} files.
10288 @item nnml-nov-file-name
10289 @vindex nnml-nov-file-name
10290 The name of the @sc{nov} files. The default is @file{.overview}.
10292 @item nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10293 @vindex nnml-prepare-save-mail-hook
10294 Hook run narrowed to an article before saving.
10298 @findex nnml-generate-nov-databases
10299 If your @code{nnml} groups and @sc{nov} files get totally out of whack,
10300 you can do a complete update by typing @kbd{M-x
10301 nnml-generate-nov-databases}. This command will trawl through the
10302 entire @code{nnml} hierarchy, looking at each and every article, so it
10303 might take a while to complete. A better interface to this
10304 functionality can be found in the server buffer (@pxref{Server
10309 @subsubsection MH Spool
10311 @cindex mh-e mail spool
10313 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, except that is doesn't generate
10314 @sc{nov} databases and it doesn't keep an active file. This makes
10315 @code{nnmh} a @emph{much} slower backend than @code{nnml}, but it also
10316 makes it easier to write procmail scripts for.
10318 Virtual server settings:
10321 @item nnmh-directory
10322 @vindex nnmh-directory
10323 All @code{nnmh} directories will be located under this directory.
10325 @item nnmh-get-new-mail
10326 @vindex nnmh-get-new-mail
10327 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will read incoming mail.
10330 @vindex nnmh-be-safe
10331 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnmh} will go to ridiculous lengths to make
10332 sure that the articles in the folder are actually what Gnus thinks they
10333 are. It will check date stamps and stat everything in sight, so
10334 setting this to @code{t} will mean a serious slow-down. If you never
10335 use anything but Gnus to read the @code{nnmh} articles, you do not have
10336 to set this variable to @code{t}.
10341 @subsubsection Mail Folders
10343 @cindex mbox folders
10344 @cindex mail folders
10346 @code{nnfolder} is a backend for storing each mail group in a separate
10347 file. Each file is in the standard Un*x mbox format. @code{nnfolder}
10348 will add extra headers to keep track of article numbers and arrival
10351 Virtual server settings:
10354 @item nnfolder-directory
10355 @vindex nnfolder-directory
10356 All the @code{nnfolder} mail boxes will be stored under this directory.
10358 @item nnfolder-active-file
10359 @vindex nnfolder-active-file
10360 The name of the active file.
10362 @item nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10363 @vindex nnfolder-newsgroups-file
10364 The name of the group descriptions file. @xref{Newsgroups File Format}.
10366 @item nnfolder-get-new-mail
10367 @vindex nnfolder-get-new-mail
10368 If non-@code{nil}, @code{nnfolder} will read incoming mail.
10371 @findex nnfolder-generate-active-file
10372 @kindex M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file
10373 If you have lots of @code{nnfolder}-like files you'd like to read with
10374 @code{nnfolder}, you can use the @kbd{M-x nnfolder-generate-active-file}
10375 command to make @code{nnfolder} aware of all likely files in
10376 @code{nnfolder-directory}.
10379 @node Other Sources
10380 @section Other Sources
10382 Gnus can do more than just read news or mail. The methods described
10383 below allow Gnus to view directories and files as if they were
10387 * Directory Groups:: You can read a directory as if it was a newsgroup.
10388 * Anything Groups:: Dired? Who needs dired?
10389 * Document Groups:: Single files can be the basis of a group.
10390 * SOUP:: Reading @sc{SOUP} packets ``offline''.
10391 * Web Searches:: Creating groups from articles that match a string.
10392 * Mail-To-News Gateways:: Posting articles via mail-to-news gateways.
10396 @node Directory Groups
10397 @subsection Directory Groups
10399 @cindex directory groups
10401 If you have a directory that has lots of articles in separate files in
10402 it, you might treat it as a newsgroup. The files have to have numerical
10405 This might be an opportune moment to mention @code{ange-ftp} (and its
10406 successor @code{efs}), that most wonderful of all wonderful Emacs
10407 packages. When I wrote @code{nndir}, I didn't think much about it---a
10408 backend to read directories. Big deal.
10410 @code{ange-ftp} changes that picture dramatically. For instance, if you
10411 enter the @code{ange-ftp} file name
10412 @file{/ftp.hpc.uh.edu:/pub/emacs/ding-list/} as the directory name,
10413 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs} will actually allow you to read this
10414 directory over at @samp{sina} as a newsgroup. Distributed news ahoy!
10416 @code{nndir} will use @sc{nov} files if they are present.
10418 @code{nndir} is a ``read-only'' backend---you can't delete or expire
10419 articles with this method. You can use @code{nnmh} or @code{nnml} for
10420 whatever you use @code{nndir} for, so you could switch to any of those
10421 methods if you feel the need to have a non-read-only @code{nndir}.
10424 @node Anything Groups
10425 @subsection Anything Groups
10428 From the @code{nndir} backend (which reads a single spool-like
10429 directory), it's just a hop and a skip to @code{nneething}, which
10430 pretends that any arbitrary directory is a newsgroup. Strange, but
10433 When @code{nneething} is presented with a directory, it will scan this
10434 directory and assign article numbers to each file. When you enter such
10435 a group, @code{nneething} must create ``headers'' that Gnus can use.
10436 After all, Gnus is a newsreader, in case you're
10437 forgetting. @code{nneething} does this in a two-step process. First, it
10438 snoops each file in question. If the file looks like an article (i.e.,
10439 the first few lines look like headers), it will use this as the head.
10440 If this is just some arbitrary file without a head (e.g. a C source
10441 file), @code{nneething} will cobble up a header out of thin air. It
10442 will use file ownership, name and date and do whatever it can with these
10445 All this should happen automatically for you, and you will be presented
10446 with something that looks very much like a newsgroup. Totally like a
10447 newsgroup, to be precise. If you select an article, it will be displayed
10448 in the article buffer, just as usual.
10450 If you select a line that represents a directory, Gnus will pop you into
10451 a new summary buffer for this @code{nneething} group. And so on. You can
10452 traverse the entire disk this way, if you feel like, but remember that
10453 Gnus is not dired, really, and does not intend to be, either.
10455 There are two overall modes to this action---ephemeral or solid. When
10456 doing the ephemeral thing (i.e., @kbd{G D} from the group buffer), Gnus
10457 will not store information on what files you have read, and what files
10458 are new, and so on. If you create a solid @code{nneething} group the
10459 normal way with @kbd{G m}, Gnus will store a mapping table between
10460 article numbers and file names, and you can treat this group like any
10461 other groups. When you activate a solid @code{nneething} group, you will
10462 be told how many unread articles it contains, etc., etc.
10467 @item nneething-map-file-directory
10468 @vindex nneething-map-file-directory
10469 All the mapping files for solid @code{nneething} groups will be stored
10470 in this directory, which defaults to @file{~/.nneething/}.
10472 @item nneething-exclude-files
10473 @vindex nneething-exclude-files
10474 All files that match this regexp will be ignored. Nice to use to exclude
10475 auto-save files and the like, which is what it does by default.
10477 @item nneething-map-file
10478 @vindex nneething-map-file
10479 Name of the map files.
10483 @node Document Groups
10484 @subsection Document Groups
10486 @cindex documentation group
10489 @code{nndoc} is a cute little thing that will let you read a single file
10490 as a newsgroup. Several files types are supported:
10497 The babyl (rmail) mail box.
10502 The standard Unix mbox file.
10504 @cindex MMDF mail box
10506 The MMDF mail box format.
10509 Several news articles appended into a file.
10512 @cindex rnews batch files
10513 The rnews batch transport format.
10514 @cindex forwarded messages
10517 Forwarded articles.
10520 MIME multipart messages, besides digests.
10524 @cindex MIME digest
10525 @cindex 1153 digest
10526 @cindex RFC 1153 digest
10527 @cindex RFC 341 digest
10528 MIME (RFC 1341) digest format.
10530 @item standard-digest
10531 The standard (RFC 1153) digest format.
10534 Non-standard digest format---matches most things, but does it badly.
10537 You can also use the special ``file type'' @code{guess}, which means
10538 that @code{nndoc} will try to guess what file type it is looking at.
10539 @code{digest} means that @code{nndoc} should guess what digest type the
10542 @code{nndoc} will not try to change the file or insert any extra headers into
10543 it---it will simply, like, let you use the file as the basis for a
10544 group. And that's it.
10546 If you have some old archived articles that you want to insert into your
10547 new & spiffy Gnus mail backend, @code{nndoc} can probably help you with
10548 that. Say you have an old @file{RMAIL} file with mail that you now want
10549 to split into your new @code{nnml} groups. You look at that file using
10550 @code{nndoc} (using the @kbd{G f} command in the group buffer
10551 (@pxref{Foreign Groups})), set the process mark on all the articles in
10552 the buffer (@kbd{M P b}, for instance), and then re-spool (@kbd{B r})
10553 using @code{nnml}. If all goes well, all the mail in the @file{RMAIL}
10554 file is now also stored in lots of @code{nnml} directories, and you can
10555 delete that pesky @file{RMAIL} file. If you have the guts!
10557 Virtual server variables:
10560 @item nndoc-article-type
10561 @vindex nndoc-article-type
10562 This should be one of @code{mbox}, @code{babyl}, @code{digest},
10563 @code{news}, @code{rnews}, @code{mmdf}, @code{forward}, @code{rfc934},
10564 @code{rfc822-forward}, @code{mime-parts}, @code{mime-digest},
10565 @code{standard-digest}, @code{slack-digest}, @code{clari-briefs} or
10568 @item nndoc-post-type
10569 @vindex nndoc-post-type
10570 This variable says whether Gnus is to consider the group a news group or
10571 a mail group. There are two valid values: @code{mail} (the default)
10576 * Document Server Internals:: How to add your own document types.
10580 @node Document Server Internals
10581 @subsubsection Document Server Internals
10583 Adding new document types to be recognized by @code{nndoc} isn't
10584 difficult. You just have to whip up a definition of what the document
10585 looks like, write a predicate function to recognize that document type,
10586 and then hook into @code{nndoc}.
10588 First, here's an example document type definition:
10592 (article-begin . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n")
10593 (body-end . "^\^A\^A\^A\^A\n"))
10596 The definition is simply a unique @dfn{name} followed by a series of
10597 regexp pseudo-variable settings. Below are the possible
10598 variables---don't be daunted by the number of variables; most document
10599 types can be defined with very few settings:
10602 @item first-article
10603 If present, @code{nndoc} will skip past all text until it finds
10604 something that match this regexp. All text before this will be
10607 @item article-begin
10608 This setting has to be present in all document type definitions. It
10609 says what the beginning of each article looks like.
10611 @item head-begin-function
10612 If present, this should be a function that moves point to the head of
10615 @item nndoc-head-begin
10616 If present, this should be a regexp that matches the head of the
10619 @item nndoc-head-end
10620 This should match the end of the head of the article. It defaults to
10621 @samp{^$}---the empty line.
10623 @item body-begin-function
10624 If present, this function should move point to the beginning of the body
10628 This should match the beginning of the body of the article. It defaults
10631 @item body-end-function
10632 If present, this function should move point to the end of the body of
10636 If present, this should match the end of the body of the article.
10639 If present, this should match the end of the file. All text after this
10640 regexp will be totally ignored.
10644 So, using these variables @code{nndoc} is able to dissect a document
10645 file into a series of articles, each with a head and a body. However, a
10646 few more variables are needed since not all document types are all that
10647 news-like---variables needed to transform the head or the body into
10648 something that's palatable for Gnus:
10651 @item prepare-body-function
10652 If present, this function will be called when requesting an article. It
10653 will be called with point at the start of the body, and is useful if the
10654 document has encoded some parts of its contents.
10656 @item article-transform-function
10657 If present, this function is called when requesting an article. It's
10658 meant to be used for more wide-ranging transformation of both head and
10659 body of the article.
10661 @item generate-head-function
10662 If present, this function is called to generate a head that Gnus can
10663 understand. It is called with the article number as a parameter, and is
10664 expected to generate a nice head for the article in question. It is
10665 called when requesting the headers of all articles.
10669 Let's look at the most complicated example I can come up with---standard
10674 (first-article . ,(concat "^" (make-string 70 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10675 (article-begin . ,(concat "\n\n" (make-string 30 ?-) "\n\n+"))
10676 (prepare-body-function . nndoc-unquote-dashes)
10677 (body-end-function . nndoc-digest-body-end)
10678 (head-end . "^ ?$")
10679 (body-begin . "^ ?\n")
10680 (file-end . "^End of .*digest.*[0-9].*\n\\*\\*\\|^End of.*Digest *$")
10681 (subtype digest guess))
10684 We see that all text before a 70-width line of dashes is ignored; all
10685 text after a line that starts with that @samp{^End of} is also ignored;
10686 each article begins with a 30-width line of dashes; the line separating
10687 the head from the body may contain a single space; and that the body is
10688 run through @code{nndoc-unquote-dashes} before being delivered.
10690 To hook your own document definition into @code{nndoc}, use the
10691 @code{nndoc-add-type} function. It takes two parameters---the first is
10692 the definition itself and the second (optional) parameter says where in
10693 the document type definition alist to put this definition. The alist is
10694 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
10695 is of @code{mmdf} type, and so on. These type predicates should return
10696 @code{nil} if the document is not of the correct type; @code{t} if it is
10697 of the correct type; and a number if the document might be of the
10698 correct type. A high number means high probability; a low number means
10699 low probability with @samp{0} being the lowest valid number.
10707 In the PC world people often talk about ``offline'' newsreaders. These
10708 are thingies that are combined reader/news transport monstrosities.
10709 With built-in modem programs. Yecchh!
10711 Of course, us Unix Weenie types of human beans use things like
10712 @code{uucp} and, like, @code{nntpd} and set up proper news and mail
10713 transport things like Ghod intended. And then we just use normal
10716 However, it can sometimes be convenient to do something a that's a bit
10717 easier on the brain if you have a very slow modem, and you're not really
10718 that interested in doing things properly.
10720 A file format called @sc{soup} has been developed for transporting news
10721 and mail from servers to home machines and back again. It can be a bit
10724 First some terminology:
10729 This is the machine that is connected to the outside world and where you
10730 get news and/or mail from.
10733 This is the machine that you want to do the actual reading and responding
10734 on. It is typically not connected to the rest of the world in any way.
10737 Something that contains messages and/or commands. There are two kinds
10741 @item message packets
10742 These are packets made at the server, and typically contain lots of
10743 messages for you to read. These are called @file{SoupoutX.tgz} by
10744 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10746 @item response packets
10747 These are packets made at the home machine, and typically contains
10748 replies that you've written. These are called @file{SoupinX.tgz} by
10749 default, where @var{X} is a number.
10759 You log in on the server and create a @sc{soup} packet. You can either
10760 use a dedicated @sc{soup} thingie (like the @code{awk} program), or you
10761 can use Gnus to create the packet with its @sc{soup} commands (@kbd{O
10762 s} and/or @kbd{G s b}; and then @kbd{G s p}) (@pxref{SOUP Commands}).
10765 You transfer the packet home. Rail, boat, car or modem will do fine.
10768 You put the packet in your home directory.
10771 You fire up Gnus on your home machine using the @code{nnsoup} backend as
10772 the native or secondary server.
10775 You read articles and mail and answer and followup to the things you
10776 want (@pxref{SOUP Replies}).
10779 You do the @kbd{G s r} command to pack these replies into a @sc{soup}
10783 You transfer this packet to the server.
10786 You use Gnus to mail this packet out with the @kbd{G s s} command.
10789 You then repeat until you die.
10793 So you basically have a bipartite system---you use @code{nnsoup} for
10794 reading and Gnus for packing/sending these @sc{soup} packets.
10797 * SOUP Commands:: Commands for creating and sending @sc{soup} packets
10798 * SOUP Groups:: A backend for reading @sc{soup} packets.
10799 * SOUP Replies:: How to enable @code{nnsoup} to take over mail and news.
10803 @node SOUP Commands
10804 @subsubsection SOUP Commands
10806 These are commands for creating and manipulating @sc{soup} packets.
10810 @kindex G s b (Group)
10811 @findex gnus-group-brew-soup
10812 Pack all unread articles in the current group
10813 (@code{gnus-group-brew-soup}). This command understands the
10814 process/prefix convention.
10817 @kindex G s w (Group)
10818 @findex gnus-soup-save-areas
10819 Save all @sc{soup} data files (@code{gnus-soup-save-areas}).
10822 @kindex G s s (Group)
10823 @findex gnus-soup-send-replies
10824 Send all replies from the replies packet
10825 (@code{gnus-soup-send-replies}).
10828 @kindex G s p (Group)
10829 @findex gnus-soup-pack-packet
10830 Pack all files into a @sc{soup} packet (@code{gnus-soup-pack-packet}).
10833 @kindex G s r (Group)
10834 @findex nnsoup-pack-replies
10835 Pack all replies into a replies packet (@code{nnsoup-pack-replies}).
10838 @kindex O s (Summary)
10839 @findex gnus-soup-add-article
10840 This summary-mode command adds the current article to a @sc{soup} packet
10841 (@code{gnus-soup-add-article}). It understands the process/prefix
10842 convention (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
10847 There are a few variables to customize where Gnus will put all these
10852 @item gnus-soup-directory
10853 @vindex gnus-soup-directory
10854 Directory where Gnus will save intermediate files while composing
10855 @sc{soup} packets. The default is @file{~/SoupBrew/}.
10857 @item gnus-soup-replies-directory
10858 @vindex gnus-soup-replies-directory
10859 This is what Gnus will use as a temporary directory while sending our
10860 reply packets. @file{~/SoupBrew/SoupReplies/} is the default.
10862 @item gnus-soup-prefix-file
10863 @vindex gnus-soup-prefix-file
10864 Name of the file where Gnus stores the last used prefix. The default is
10865 @samp{gnus-prefix}.
10867 @item gnus-soup-packer
10868 @vindex gnus-soup-packer
10869 A format string command for packing a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10870 @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupout%d.tgz}.
10872 @item gnus-soup-unpacker
10873 @vindex gnus-soup-unpacker
10874 Format string command for unpacking a @sc{soup} packet. The default is
10875 @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10877 @item gnus-soup-packet-directory
10878 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-directory
10879 Where Gnus will look for reply packets. The default is @file{~/}.
10881 @item gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10882 @vindex gnus-soup-packet-regexp
10883 Regular expression matching @sc{soup} reply packets in
10884 @code{gnus-soup-packet-directory}.
10890 @subsubsection @sc{soup} Groups
10893 @code{nnsoup} is the backend for reading @sc{soup} packets. It will
10894 read incoming packets, unpack them, and put them in a directory where
10895 you can read them at leisure.
10897 These are the variables you can use to customize its behavior:
10901 @item nnsoup-tmp-directory
10902 @vindex nnsoup-tmp-directory
10903 When @code{nnsoup} unpacks a @sc{soup} packet, it does it in this
10904 directory. (@file{/tmp/} by default.)
10906 @item nnsoup-directory
10907 @vindex nnsoup-directory
10908 @code{nnsoup} then moves each message and index file to this directory.
10909 The default is @file{~/SOUP/}.
10911 @item nnsoup-replies-directory
10912 @vindex nnsoup-replies-directory
10913 All replies will be stored in this directory before being packed into a
10914 reply packet. The default is @file{~/SOUP/replies/"}.
10916 @item nnsoup-replies-format-type
10917 @vindex nnsoup-replies-format-type
10918 The @sc{soup} format of the replies packets. The default is @samp{?n}
10919 (rnews), and I don't think you should touch that variable. I probably
10920 shouldn't even have documented it. Drats! Too late!
10922 @item nnsoup-replies-index-type
10923 @vindex nnsoup-replies-index-type
10924 The index type of the replies packet. The default is @samp{?n}, which
10925 means ``none''. Don't fiddle with this one either!
10927 @item nnsoup-active-file
10928 @vindex nnsoup-active-file
10929 Where @code{nnsoup} stores lots of information. This is not an ``active
10930 file'' in the @code{nntp} sense; it's an Emacs Lisp file. If you lose
10931 this file or mess it up in any way, you're dead. The default is
10932 @file{~/SOUP/active}.
10934 @item nnsoup-packer
10935 @vindex nnsoup-packer
10936 Format string command for packing a reply @sc{soup} packet. The default
10937 is @samp{tar cf - %s | gzip > $HOME/Soupin%d.tgz}.
10939 @item nnsoup-unpacker
10940 @vindex nnsoup-unpacker
10941 Format string command for unpacking incoming @sc{soup} packets. The
10942 default is @samp{gunzip -c %s | tar xvf -}.
10944 @item nnsoup-packet-directory
10945 @vindex nnsoup-packet-directory
10946 Where @code{nnsoup} will look for incoming packets. The default is
10949 @item nnsoup-packet-regexp
10950 @vindex nnsoup-packet-regexp
10951 Regular expression matching incoming @sc{soup} packets. The default is
10954 @item nnsoup-always-save
10955 @vindex nnsoup-always-save
10956 If non-@code{nil}, save the replies buffer after each posted message.
10962 @subsubsection SOUP Replies
10964 Just using @code{nnsoup} won't mean that your postings and mailings end
10965 up in @sc{soup} reply packets automagically. You have to work a bit
10966 more for that to happen.
10968 @findex nnsoup-set-variables
10969 The @code{nnsoup-set-variables} command will set the appropriate
10970 variables to ensure that all your followups and replies end up in the
10973 In specific, this is what it does:
10976 (setq message-send-news-function 'nnsoup-request-post)
10977 (setq message-send-mail-function 'nnsoup-request-mail)
10980 And that's it, really. If you only want news to go into the @sc{soup}
10981 system you just use the first line. If you only want mail to be
10982 @sc{soup}ed you use the second.
10986 @subsection Web Searches
10990 @cindex InReference
10991 @cindex Usenet searches
10992 @cindex searching the Usenet
10994 It's, like, too neat to search the Usenet for articles that match a
10995 string, but it, like, totally @emph{sucks}, like, totally, to use one of
10996 those, like, Web browsers, and you, like, have to, rilly, like, look at
10997 the commercials, so, like, with Gnus you can do @emph{rad}, rilly,
10998 searches without having to use a browser.
11000 The @code{nnweb} backend allows an easy interface to the mighty search
11001 engine. You create an @code{nnweb} group, enter a search pattern, and
11002 then enter the group and read the articles like you would any normal
11003 group. The @kbd{G w} command in the group buffer (@pxref{Foreign
11004 Groups}) will do this in an easy-to-use fashion.
11006 @code{nnweb} groups don't really lend themselves to being solid
11007 groups---they have a very fleeting idea of article numbers. In fact,
11008 each time you enter an @code{nnweb} group (not even changing the search
11009 pattern), you are likely to get the articles ordered in a different
11010 manner. Not even using duplicate suppression (@pxref{Duplicate
11011 Suppression}) will help, since @code{nnweb} doesn't even know the
11012 @code{Message-ID} of the articles before reading them using some search
11013 engines (DejaNews, for instance). The only possible way to keep track
11014 of which articles you've read is by scoring on the @code{Date}
11015 header---mark all articles posted before the last date you read the
11018 If the search engine changes its output substantially, @code{nnweb}
11019 won't be able to parse it and will fail. One could hardly fault the Web
11020 providers if they were to do this---their @emph{raison d'
\e,Aj
\e(Btre} is to
11021 make money off of advertisements, not to provide services to the
11022 community. Since @code{nnweb} washes the ads off all the articles, one
11023 might think that the providers might be somewhat miffed. We'll see.
11025 You must have the @code{url} and @code{w3} package installed to be able
11026 to use @code{nnweb}.
11028 Virtual server variables:
11033 What search engine type is being used. The currently supported types
11034 are @code{dejanews}, @code{dejanewsold}, @code{altavista} and
11038 @vindex nnweb-search
11039 The search string to feed to the search engine.
11041 @item nnweb-max-hits
11042 @vindex nnweb-max-hits
11043 Advisory maximum number of hits per search to display. The default is
11046 @item nnweb-type-definition
11047 @vindex nnweb-type-definition
11048 Type-to-definition alist. This alist says what @code{nnweb} should do
11049 with the various search engine types. The following elements must be
11054 Function to decode the article and provide something that Gnus
11058 Function to create an article number to message header and URL alist.
11061 Function to send the search string to the search engine.
11064 The address the aforementioned function should send the search string
11068 Format string URL to fetch an article by @code{Message-ID}.
11075 @node Mail-To-News Gateways
11076 @subsection Mail-To-News Gateways
11077 @cindex mail-to-news gateways
11080 If your local @code{nntp} server doesn't allow posting, for some reason
11081 or other, you can post using one of the numerous mail-to-news gateways.
11082 The @code{nngateway} backend provides the interface.
11084 Note that you can't read anything from this backend---it can only be
11090 @item nngateway-address
11091 @vindex nngateway-address
11092 This is the address of the mail-to-news gateway.
11094 @item nngateway-header-transformation
11095 @vindex nngateway-header-transformation
11096 News headers often have to be transformed in some odd way or other
11097 for the mail-to-news gateway to accept it. This variable says what
11098 transformation should be called, and defaults to
11099 @code{nngateway-simple-header-transformation}. The function is called
11100 narrowed to the headers to be transformed and with one parameter---the
11103 This default function just inserts a new @code{To} header based on the
11104 @code{Newsgroups} header and the gateway address.
11105 For instance, an article with this @code{Newsgroups} header:
11108 Newsgroups: alt.religion.emacs
11111 will get this @code{From} header inserted:
11114 To: alt-religion-emacs@@GATEWAY
11117 The following pre-defined functions exist:
11119 @findex nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11122 @item nngateway-simple-header-transformation
11123 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11124 @var{newsgroup}@@@code{nngateway-address}.
11126 @findex nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11128 @item nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation
11129 Creates a @code{To} header that looks like
11130 @code{nngateway-address}.
11135 (setq gnus-post-method
11136 '(nngateway "mail2news@@replay.com"
11137 (nngateway-header-transformation
11138 nngateway-mail2news-header-transformation)))
11146 So, to use this, simply say something like:
11149 (setq gnus-post-method '(nngateway "GATEWAY.ADDRESS"))
11153 @node Combined Groups
11154 @section Combined Groups
11156 Gnus allows combining a mixture of all the other group types into bigger
11160 * Virtual Groups:: Combining articles from many groups.
11161 * Kibozed Groups:: Looking through parts of the newsfeed for articles.
11165 @node Virtual Groups
11166 @subsection Virtual Groups
11168 @cindex virtual groups
11169 @cindex merging groups
11171 An @dfn{nnvirtual group} is really nothing more than a collection of
11174 For instance, if you are tired of reading many small groups, you can
11175 put them all in one big group, and then grow tired of reading one
11176 big, unwieldy group. The joys of computing!
11178 You specify @code{nnvirtual} as the method. The address should be a
11179 regexp to match component groups.
11181 All marks in the virtual group will stick to the articles in the
11182 component groups. So if you tick an article in a virtual group, the
11183 article will also be ticked in the component group from whence it came.
11184 (And vice versa---marks from the component groups will also be shown in
11185 the virtual group.)
11187 Here's an example @code{nnvirtual} method that collects all Andrea Dworkin
11188 newsgroups into one, big, happy newsgroup:
11191 (nnvirtual "^alt\\.fan\\.andrea-dworkin$\\|^rec\\.dworkin.*")
11194 The component groups can be native or foreign; everything should work
11195 smoothly, but if your computer explodes, it was probably my fault.
11197 Collecting the same group from several servers might actually be a good
11198 idea if users have set the Distribution header to limit distribution.
11199 If you would like to read @samp{soc.motss} both from a server in Japan
11200 and a server in Norway, you could use the following as the group regexp:
11203 "^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.jp:soc\\.motss$\\|^nntp\\+some\\.server\\.no:soc\\.motss$"
11206 (Remember, though, that if you're creating the group with @kbd{G m}, you
11207 shouldn't double the backslashes, and you should leave off the quote
11208 characters at the beginning and the end of the string.)
11210 This should work kinda smoothly---all articles from both groups should
11211 end up in this one, and there should be no duplicates. Threading (and
11212 the rest) will still work as usual, but there might be problems with the
11213 sequence of articles. Sorting on date might be an option here
11214 (@pxref{Selecting a Group}).
11216 One limitation, however---all groups included in a virtual
11217 group have to be alive (i.e., subscribed or unsubscribed). Killed or
11218 zombie groups can't be component groups for @code{nnvirtual} groups.
11220 @vindex nnvirtual-always-rescan
11221 If the @code{nnvirtual-always-rescan} is non-@code{nil},
11222 @code{nnvirtual} will always scan groups for unread articles when
11223 entering a virtual group. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
11224 default) and you read articles in a component group after the virtual
11225 group has been activated, the read articles from the component group
11226 will show up when you enter the virtual group. You'll also see this
11227 effect if you have two virtual groups that have a component group in
11228 common. If that's the case, you should set this variable to @code{t}.
11229 Or you can just tap @code{M-g} on the virtual group every time before
11230 you enter it---it'll have much the same effect.
11233 @node Kibozed Groups
11234 @subsection Kibozed Groups
11238 @dfn{Kibozing} is defined by @sc{oed} as ``grepping through (parts of)
11239 the news feed''. @code{nnkiboze} is a backend that will do this for
11240 you. Oh joy! Now you can grind any @sc{nntp} server down to a halt
11241 with useless requests! Oh happiness!
11243 @kindex G k (Group)
11244 To create a kibozed group, use the @kbd{G k} command in the group
11247 The address field of the @code{nnkiboze} method is, as with
11248 @code{nnvirtual}, a regexp to match groups to be ``included'' in the
11249 @code{nnkiboze} group. That's where most similarities between @code{nnkiboze}
11250 and @code{nnvirtual} end.
11252 In addition to this regexp detailing component groups, an @code{nnkiboze} group
11253 must have a score file to say what articles are to be included in
11254 the group (@pxref{Scoring}).
11256 @kindex M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups
11257 @findex nnkiboze-generate-groups
11258 You must run @kbd{M-x nnkiboze-generate-groups} after creating the
11259 @code{nnkiboze} groups you want to have. This command will take time. Lots of
11260 time. Oodles and oodles of time. Gnus has to fetch the headers from
11261 all the articles in all the component groups and run them through the
11262 scoring process to determine if there are any articles in the groups
11263 that are to be part of the @code{nnkiboze} groups.
11265 Please limit the number of component groups by using restrictive
11266 regexps. Otherwise your sysadmin may become annoyed with you, and the
11267 @sc{nntp} site may throw you off and never let you back in again.
11268 Stranger things have happened.
11270 @code{nnkiboze} component groups do not have to be alive---they can be dead,
11271 and they can be foreign. No restrictions.
11273 @vindex nnkiboze-directory
11274 The generation of an @code{nnkiboze} group means writing two files in
11275 @code{nnkiboze-directory}, which is @file{~/News/} by default. One
11276 contains the @sc{nov} header lines for all the articles in the group,
11277 and the other is an additional @file{.newsrc} file to store information
11278 on what groups have been searched through to find component articles.
11280 Articles marked as read in the @code{nnkiboze} group will have
11281 their @sc{nov} lines removed from the @sc{nov} file.
11284 @node Gnus Unplugged
11285 @section Gnus Unplugged
11290 @cindex Gnus Unplugged
11292 In olden times (ca. February '88), people used to run their newsreaders
11293 on big machines with permanent connections to the net. News transport
11294 was dealt with by news servers, and all the newsreaders had to do was to
11295 read news. Believe it or not.
11297 Nowadays most people read news and mail at home, and use some sort of
11298 modem to connect to the net. To avoid running up huge phone bills, it
11299 would be nice to have a way to slurp down all the news and mail, hang up
11300 the phone, read for several hours, and then upload any responses you
11301 have to make. And then you repeat the procedure.
11303 Of course, you can use news servers for doing this as well. I've used
11304 @code{inn} together with @code{slurp}, @code{pop} and @code{sendmail}
11305 for some years, but doing that's a bore. Moving the news server
11306 functionality up to the newsreader makes sense if you're the only person
11307 reading news on a machine.
11309 Using Gnus as an ``offline'' newsreader is quite simple.
11313 First, set up Gnus as you would do if you were running it on a machine
11314 that has full connection to the net. Go ahead. I'll still be waiting
11318 Then, put the following magical incantation at the end of your
11319 @file{.gnus.el} file:
11326 That's it. Gnus is now an ``offline'' newsreader.
11328 Of course, to use it as such, you have to learn a few new commands.
11331 * Agent Basics:: How it all is supposed to work.
11332 * Agent Categories:: How to tell the Gnus Agent what to download.
11333 * Agent Commands:: New commands for all the buffers.
11334 * Agent Expiry:: How to make old articles go away.
11335 * Outgoing Messages:: What happens when you post/mail something?
11336 * Agent Variables:: Customizing is fun.
11337 * Example Setup:: An example @file{.gnus.el} file for offline people.
11338 * Batching Agents:: How to fetch news from a @code{cron} job.
11343 @subsection Agent Basics
11345 First, let's get some terminology out of the way.
11347 The Gnus Agent is said to be @dfn{unplugged} when you have severed the
11348 connection to the net (and notified the Agent that this is the case).
11349 When the connection to the net is up again (and Gnus knows this), the
11350 Agent is @dfn{plugged}.
11352 The @dfn{local} machine is the one you're running on, and which isn't
11353 connected to the net continuously.
11355 @dfn{Downloading} means fetching things from the net to your local
11356 machine. @dfn{Uploading} is doing the opposite.
11358 Let's take a typical Gnus session using the Agent.
11363 You start Gnus with @code{gnus-unplugged}. This brings up the Gnus
11364 Agent in a disconnected state. You can read all the news that you have
11365 already fetched while in this mode.
11368 You then decide to see whether any new news has arrived. You connect
11369 your machine to the net (using PPP or whatever), and then hit @kbd{J j}
11370 to make Gnus become @dfn{plugged}.
11373 You can then read the new news immediately, or you can download the news
11374 onto your local machine. If you want to do the latter, you press @kbd{J
11375 s} to fetch all the eligible articles in all the groups. (To let Gnus
11376 know which articles you want to download, @pxref{Agent Categories}.)
11379 After fetching the articles, you press @kbd{J j} to make Gnus become
11380 unplugged again, and you shut down the PPP thing (or whatever). And
11381 then you read the news offline.
11384 And then you go to step 2.
11387 Here are some things you should do the first time (or so) that you use
11393 Decide which servers should be covered by the Agent. If you have a mail
11394 backend, it would probably be nonsensical to have it covered by the
11395 Agent. Go to the server buffer (@kbd{^} in the group buffer) and press
11396 @kbd{J a} the server (or servers) that you wish to have covered by the
11397 Agent (@pxref{Server Agent Commands}). This will typically be only the
11398 primary select method, which is listed on the bottom in the buffer.
11401 Decide on download policy. @xref{Agent Categories}
11408 @node Agent Categories
11409 @subsection Agent Categories
11411 One of the main reasons to integrate the news transport layer into the
11412 newsreader is to allow greater control over what articles to download.
11413 There's not much point in downloading huge amounts of articles, just to
11414 find out that you're not interested in reading any of them. It's better
11415 to be somewhat more conservative in choosing what to download, and then
11416 mark the articles for downloading manually if it should turn out that
11417 you're interested in the articles anyway.
11419 The main way to control what is to be downloaded is to create a
11420 @dfn{category} and then assign some (or all) groups to this category.
11421 Gnus has its own buffer for creating and managing categories.
11424 * Category Syntax:: What a category looks like.
11425 * The Category Buffer:: A buffer for maintaining categories.
11426 * Category Variables:: Customize'r'Us.
11430 @node Category Syntax
11431 @subsubsection Category Syntax
11433 A category consists of two things.
11437 A predicate which (generally) gives a rough outline of which articles
11438 are eligible for downloading; and
11441 a score rule which (generally) gives you a finer granularity when
11442 deciding what articles to download. (Note that this @dfn{download
11443 score} is wholly unrelated to normal scores.)
11446 A predicate consists of predicates with logical operators sprinkled in
11449 Perhaps some examples are in order.
11451 Here's a simple predicate. (It's the default predicate, in fact, used
11452 for all groups that don't belong to any other category.)
11458 Quite simple, eh? This predicate is true if and only if the article is
11459 short (for some value of ``short'').
11461 Here's a more complex predicate:
11470 This means that an article should be downloaded if it has a high score,
11471 or if the score is not low and the article is not long. You get the
11474 The available logical operators are @code{or}, @code{and} and
11475 @code{not}. (If you prefer, you can use the more ``C''-ish operators
11476 @samp{|}, @code{&} and @code{!} instead.)
11478 The following predicates are pre-defined, but if none of these fit what
11479 you want to do, you can write your own.
11483 True iff the article is shorter than @code{gnus-agent-short-article}
11484 lines; default 100.
11487 True iff the article is longer than @code{gnus-agent-long-article}
11488 lines; default 200.
11491 True iff the article has a download score less than
11492 @code{gnus-agent-low-score}; default 0.
11495 True iff the article has a download score greater than
11496 @code{gnus-agent-high-score}; default 0.
11499 True iff the Gnus Agent guesses that the article is spam. The
11500 heuristics may change over time, but at present it just computes a
11501 checksum and sees whether articles match.
11510 If you want to create your own predicate function, here's what you have
11511 to know: The functions are called with no parameters, but the
11512 @code{gnus-headers} and @code{gnus-score} dynamic variables are bound to
11515 Now, the syntax of the download score is the same as the syntax of
11516 normal score files, except that all elements that require actually
11517 seeing the article itself are verboten. This means that only the
11518 following headers can be scored on: @code{From}, @code{Subject},
11519 @code{Date}, @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars}, @code{Message-ID},
11520 and @code{References}.
11523 @node The Category Buffer
11524 @subsubsection The Category Buffer
11526 You'd normally do all category maintenance from the category buffer.
11527 When you enter it for the first time (with the @kbd{J c} command from
11528 the group buffer), you'll only see the @code{default} category.
11530 The following commands are available in this buffer:
11534 @kindex q (Category)
11535 @findex gnus-category-exit
11536 Return to the group buffer (@code{gnus-category-exit}).
11539 @kindex k (Category)
11540 @findex gnus-category-kill
11541 Kill the current category (@code{gnus-category-kill}).
11544 @kindex c (Category)
11545 @findex gnus-category-copy
11546 Copy the current category (@code{gnus-category-copy}).
11549 @kindex a (Category)
11550 @findex gnus-category-add
11551 Add a new category (@code{gnus-category-add}).
11554 @kindex p (Category)
11555 @findex gnus-category-edit-predicate
11556 Edit the predicate of the current category
11557 (@code{gnus-category-edit-predicate}).
11560 @kindex g (Category)
11561 @findex gnus-category-edit-groups
11562 Edit the list of groups belonging to the current category
11563 (@code{gnus-category-edit-groups}).
11566 @kindex s (Category)
11567 @findex gnus-category-edit-score
11568 Edit the download score rule of the current category
11569 (@code{gnus-category-edit-score}).
11572 @kindex l (Category)
11573 @findex gnus-category-list
11574 List all the categories (@code{gnus-category-list}).
11578 @node Category Variables
11579 @subsubsection Category Variables
11582 @item gnus-category-mode-hook
11583 @vindex gnus-category-mode-hook
11584 Hook run in category buffers.
11586 @item gnus-category-line-format
11587 @vindex gnus-category-line-format
11588 Format of the lines in the category buffer (@pxref{Formatting
11589 Variables}). Valid elements are:
11593 The name of the category.
11596 The number of groups in the category.
11599 @item gnus-category-mode-line-format
11600 @vindex gnus-category-mode-line-format
11601 Format of the category mode line (@pxref{Mode Line Formatting}).
11603 @item gnus-agent-short-article
11604 @vindex gnus-agent-short-article
11605 Articles that have fewer lines than this are short. Default 100.
11607 @item gnus-agent-long-article
11608 @vindex gnus-agent-long-article
11609 Articles that have more lines than this are long. Default 200.
11611 @item gnus-agent-low-score
11612 @vindex gnus-agent-low-score
11613 Articles that have a score lower than this have a low score. Default
11616 @item gnus-agent-high-score
11617 @vindex gnus-agent-high-score
11618 Articles that have a score higher than this have a high score. Default
11624 @node Agent Commands
11625 @subsection Agent Commands
11627 All the Gnus Agent commands are on the @kbd{J} submap. The @kbd{J j}
11628 (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-plugged} command works in all modes, and
11629 toggles the plugged/unplugged state of the Gnus Agent.
11633 * Group Agent Commands::
11634 * Summary Agent Commands::
11635 * Server Agent Commands::
11638 You can run a complete batch fetch from the command line with the
11639 following incantation:
11641 @cindex gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11643 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.gnus.el -f gnus-agent-batch-fetch
11648 @node Group Agent Commands
11649 @subsubsection Group Agent Commands
11653 @kindex J u (Agent Group)
11654 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-groups
11655 Fetch all eligible articles in the current group
11656 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-groups}).
11659 @kindex J c (Agent Group)
11660 @findex gnus-enter-category-buffer
11661 Enter the Agent category buffer (@code{gnus-enter-category-buffer}).
11664 @kindex J s (Agent Group)
11665 @findex gnus-agent-fetch-session
11666 Fetch all eligible articles in all groups
11667 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}).
11670 @kindex J S (Agent Group)
11671 @findex gnus-group-send-drafts
11672 Send all sendable messages in the draft group
11673 (@code{gnus-agent-fetch-session}). @xref{Drafts}
11676 @kindex J a (Agent Group)
11677 @findex gnus-agent-add-group
11678 Add the current group to an Agent category
11679 (@code{gnus-agent-add-group}).
11684 @node Summary Agent Commands
11685 @subsubsection Summary Agent Commands
11689 @kindex J # (Agent Summary)
11690 @findex gnus-agent-mark-article
11691 Mark the article for downloading (@code{gnus-agent-mark-article}).
11694 @kindex J M-# (Agent Summary)
11695 @findex gnus-agent-unmark-article
11696 Remove the downloading mark from the article
11697 (@code{gnus-agent-unmark-article}).
11700 @kindex @@ (Agent Summary)
11701 @findex gnus-agent-toggle-mark
11702 Toggle whether to download the article (@code{gnus-agent-toggle-mark}).
11705 @kindex J c (Agent Summary)
11706 @findex gnus-agent-catchup
11707 Mark all undownloaded articles as read (@code{gnus-agent-catchup}).
11712 @node Server Agent Commands
11713 @subsubsection Server Agent Commands
11717 @kindex J a (Agent Server)
11718 @findex gnus-agent-add-server
11719 Add the current server to the list of servers covered by the Gnus Agent
11720 (@code{gnus-agent-add-server}).
11723 @kindex J r (Agent Server)
11724 @findex gnus-agent-remove-server
11725 Remove the current server from the list of servers covered by the Gnus
11726 Agent (@code{gnus-agent-remove-server}).
11732 @subsection Agent Expiry
11734 @vindex gnus-agent-expiry-days
11735 @findex gnus-agent-expiry
11736 @kindex M-x gnus-agent-expiry
11737 @cindex Agent expiry
11738 @cindex Gnus Agent expiry
11741 @code{nnagent} doesn't handle expiry. Instead, there's a special
11742 @code{gnus-agent-expiry} command that will expire all read articles that
11743 are older than @code{gnus-agent-expiry-days} days. It can be run
11744 whenever you feel that you're running out of space. It's not
11745 particularly fast or efficient, and it's not a particularly good idea to
11746 interrupt it (with @kbd{C-g} or anything else) once you've started it.
11748 @vindex gnus-agent-expire-all
11749 if @code{gnus-agent-expire-all} is non-@code{nil}, this command will
11750 expire all articles---unread, read, ticked and dormant. If @code{nil}
11751 (which is the default), only read articles are eligible for expiry, and
11752 unread, ticked and dormant articles will be kept indefinitely.
11755 @node Outgoing Messages
11756 @subsection Outgoing Messages
11758 When Gnus is unplugged, all outgoing messages (both mail and news) are
11759 stored in the draft groups (@pxref{Drafts}). You can view them there
11760 after posting, and edit them at will.
11762 When Gnus is plugged again, you can send the messages either from the
11763 draft group with the special commands available there, or you can use
11764 the @kbd{J S} command in the group buffer to send all the sendable
11765 messages in the draft group.
11769 @node Agent Variables
11770 @subsection Agent Variables
11773 @item gnus-agent-directory
11774 @vindex gnus-agent-directory
11775 Where the Gnus Agent will store its files. The default is
11776 @file{~/News/agent/}.
11778 @item gnus-agent-handle-level
11779 @vindex gnus-agent-handle-level
11780 Groups on levels (@pxref{Group Levels}) higher than this variable will
11781 be ignored by the Agent. The default is @code{gnus-level-subscribed},
11782 which means that only subscribed group will be considered by the Agent
11785 @item gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11786 @vindex gnus-agent-plugged-hook
11787 Hook run when connecting to the network.
11789 @item gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11790 @vindex gnus-agent-unplugged-hook
11791 Hook run when disconnecting from the network.
11796 @node Example Setup
11797 @subsection Example Setup
11799 If you don't want to read this manual, and you have a fairly standard
11800 setup, you may be able to use something like the following as your
11801 @file{.gnus.el} file to get started.
11804 ;;; Define how Gnus is to fetch news. We do this over NNTP
11805 ;;; from your ISP's server.
11806 (setq gnus-select-method '(nntp "nntp.your-isp.com"))
11808 ;;; Define how Gnus is to read your mail. We read mail from
11809 ;;; your ISP's POP server.
11810 (setenv "MAILHOST" "pop.your-isp.com")
11811 (setq nnmail-spool-file "po:username")
11813 ;;; Say how Gnus is to store the mail. We use nnml groups.
11814 (setq gnus-secondary-select-methods '((nnml "")))
11816 ;;; Make Gnus into an offline newsreader.
11820 That should be it, basically. Put that in your @file{~/.gnus.el} file,
11821 edit to suit your needs, start up PPP (or whatever), and type @kbd{M-x
11824 If this is the first time you've run Gnus, you will be subscribed
11825 automatically to a few default newsgroups. You'll probably want to
11826 subscribe to more groups, and to do that, you have to query the
11827 @sc{nntp} server for a complete list of groups with the @kbd{A A}
11828 command. This usually takes quite a while, but you only have to do it
11831 After reading and parsing a while, you'll be presented with a list of
11832 groups. Subscribe to the ones you want to read with the @kbd{u}
11833 command. @kbd{l} to make all the killed groups disappear after you've
11834 subscribe to all the groups you want to read. (@kbd{A k} will bring
11835 back all the killed groups.)
11837 You can now read the groups at once, or you can download the articles
11838 with the @kbd{J s} command. And then read the rest of this manual to
11839 find out which of the other gazillion things you want to customize.
11842 @node Batching Agents
11843 @subsection Batching Agents
11845 Having the Gnus Agent fetch articles (and post whatever messages you've
11846 written) is quite easy once you've gotten things set up properly. The
11847 following shell script will do everything that is necessary:
11851 emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -f gnus-agent-batch >/dev/null
11860 Other people use @dfn{kill files}, but we here at Gnus Towers like
11861 scoring better than killing, so we'd rather switch than fight. They do
11862 something completely different as well, so sit up straight and pay
11865 @vindex gnus-summary-mark-below
11866 All articles have a default score (@code{gnus-summary-default-score}),
11867 which is 0 by default. This score may be raised or lowered either
11868 interactively or by score files. Articles that have a score lower than
11869 @code{gnus-summary-mark-below} are marked as read.
11871 Gnus will read any @dfn{score files} that apply to the current group
11872 before generating the summary buffer.
11874 There are several commands in the summary buffer that insert score
11875 entries based on the current article. You can, for instance, ask Gnus to
11876 lower or increase the score of all articles with a certain subject.
11878 There are two sorts of scoring entries: Permanent and temporary.
11879 Temporary score entries are self-expiring entries. Any entries that are
11880 temporary and have not been used for, say, a week, will be removed
11881 silently to help keep the sizes of the score files down.
11884 * Summary Score Commands:: Adding score entries for the current group.
11885 * Group Score Commands:: General score commands.
11886 * Score Variables:: Customize your scoring. (My, what terminology).
11887 * Score File Format:: What a score file may contain.
11888 * Score File Editing:: You can edit score files by hand as well.
11889 * Adaptive Scoring:: Big Sister Gnus knows what you read.
11890 * Home Score File:: How to say where new score entries are to go.
11891 * Followups To Yourself:: Having Gnus notice when people answer you.
11892 * Scoring Tips:: How to score effectively.
11893 * Reverse Scoring:: That problem child of old is not problem.
11894 * Global Score Files:: Earth-spanning, ear-splitting score files.
11895 * Kill Files:: They are still here, but they can be ignored.
11896 * Converting Kill Files:: Translating kill files to score files.
11897 * GroupLens:: Getting predictions on what you like to read.
11898 * Advanced Scoring:: Using logical expressions to build score rules.
11899 * Score Decays:: It can be useful to let scores wither away.
11903 @node Summary Score Commands
11904 @section Summary Score Commands
11905 @cindex score commands
11907 The score commands that alter score entries do not actually modify real
11908 score files. That would be too inefficient. Gnus maintains a cache of
11909 previously loaded score files, one of which is considered the
11910 @dfn{current score file alist}. The score commands simply insert
11911 entries into this list, and upon group exit, this list is saved.
11913 The current score file is by default the group's local score file, even
11914 if no such score file actually exists. To insert score commands into
11915 some other score file (e.g. @file{all.SCORE}), you must first make this
11916 score file the current one.
11918 General score commands that don't actually change the score file:
11923 @kindex V s (Summary)
11924 @findex gnus-summary-set-score
11925 Set the score of the current article (@code{gnus-summary-set-score}).
11928 @kindex V S (Summary)
11929 @findex gnus-summary-current-score
11930 Display the score of the current article
11931 (@code{gnus-summary-current-score}).
11934 @kindex V t (Summary)
11935 @findex gnus-score-find-trace
11936 Display all score rules that have been used on the current article
11937 (@code{gnus-score-find-trace}).
11940 @kindex V R (Summary)
11941 @findex gnus-summary-rescore
11942 Run the current summary through the scoring process
11943 (@code{gnus-summary-rescore}). This might be useful if you're playing
11944 around with your score files behind Gnus' back and want to see the
11945 effect you're having.
11948 @kindex V c (Summary)
11949 @findex gnus-score-change-score-file
11950 Make a different score file the current
11951 (@code{gnus-score-change-score-file}).
11954 @kindex V e (Summary)
11955 @findex gnus-score-edit-current-scores
11956 Edit the current score file (@code{gnus-score-edit-current-scores}).
11957 You will be popped into a @code{gnus-score-mode} buffer (@pxref{Score
11961 @kindex V f (Summary)
11962 @findex gnus-score-edit-file
11963 Edit a score file and make this score file the current one
11964 (@code{gnus-score-edit-file}).
11967 @kindex V F (Summary)
11968 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
11969 Flush the score cache (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}). This is useful
11970 after editing score files.
11973 @kindex V C (Summary)
11974 @findex gnus-score-customize
11975 Customize a score file in a visually pleasing manner
11976 (@code{gnus-score-customize}).
11980 The rest of these commands modify the local score file.
11985 @kindex V m (Summary)
11986 @findex gnus-score-set-mark-below
11987 Prompt for a score, and mark all articles with a score below this as
11988 read (@code{gnus-score-set-mark-below}).
11991 @kindex V x (Summary)
11992 @findex gnus-score-set-expunge-below
11993 Prompt for a score, and add a score rule to the current score file to
11994 expunge all articles below this score
11995 (@code{gnus-score-set-expunge-below}).
11998 The keystrokes for actually making score entries follow a very regular
11999 pattern, so there's no need to list all the commands. (Hundreds of
12002 @findex gnus-summary-increase-score
12003 @findex gnus-summary-lower-score
12007 The first key is either @kbd{I} (upper case i) for increasing the score
12008 or @kbd{L} for lowering the score.
12010 The second key says what header you want to score on. The following
12011 keys are available:
12015 Score on the author name.
12018 Score on the subject line.
12021 Score on the Xref line---i.e., the cross-posting line.
12024 Score on thread---the References line.
12030 Score on the number of lines.
12033 Score on the Message-ID.
12036 Score on followups.
12046 The third key is the match type. Which match types are valid depends on
12047 what headers you are scoring on.
12059 Substring matching.
12062 Fuzzy matching (@pxref{Fuzzy Matching}).
12091 Greater than number.
12096 The fourth and final key says whether this is a temporary (i.e., expiring)
12097 score entry, or a permanent (i.e., non-expiring) score entry, or whether
12098 it is to be done immediately, without adding to the score file.
12102 Temporary score entry.
12105 Permanent score entry.
12108 Immediately scoring.
12113 So, let's say you want to increase the score on the current author with
12114 exact matching permanently: @kbd{I a e p}. If you want to lower the
12115 score based on the subject line, using substring matching, and make a
12116 temporary score entry: @kbd{L s s t}. Pretty easy.
12118 To make things a bit more complicated, there are shortcuts. If you use
12119 a capital letter on either the second or third keys, Gnus will use
12120 defaults for the remaining one or two keystrokes. The defaults are
12121 ``substring'' and ``temporary''. So @kbd{I A} is the same as @kbd{I a s
12122 t}, and @kbd{I a R} is the same as @kbd{I a r t}.
12124 These functions take both the numerical prefix and the symbolic prefix
12125 (@pxref{Symbolic Prefixes}). A numerical prefix says how much to lower
12126 (or increase) the score of the article. A symbolic prefix of @code{a}
12127 says to use the @file{all.SCORE} file for the command instead of the
12128 current score file.
12130 @vindex gnus-score-mimic-keymap
12131 The @code{gnus-score-mimic-keymap} says whether these commands will
12132 pretend they are keymaps or not.
12135 @node Group Score Commands
12136 @section Group Score Commands
12137 @cindex group score commands
12139 There aren't many of these as yet, I'm afraid.
12144 @kindex W f (Group)
12145 @findex gnus-score-flush-cache
12146 Gnus maintains a cache of score alists to avoid having to reload them
12147 all the time. This command will flush the cache
12148 (@code{gnus-score-flush-cache}).
12152 You can do scoring from the command line by saying something like:
12154 @findex gnus-batch-score
12155 @cindex batch scoring
12157 $ emacs -batch -l ~/.emacs -l gnus -f gnus-batch-score
12161 @node Score Variables
12162 @section Score Variables
12163 @cindex score variables
12167 @item gnus-use-scoring
12168 @vindex gnus-use-scoring
12169 If @code{nil}, Gnus will not check for score files, and will not, in
12170 general, do any score-related work. This is @code{t} by default.
12172 @item gnus-kill-killed
12173 @vindex gnus-kill-killed
12174 If this variable is @code{nil}, Gnus will never apply score files to
12175 articles that have already been through the kill process. While this
12176 may save you lots of time, it also means that if you apply a kill file
12177 to a group, and then change the kill file and want to run it over you
12178 group again to kill more articles, it won't work. You have to set this
12179 variable to @code{t} to do that. (It is @code{t} by default.)
12181 @item gnus-kill-files-directory
12182 @vindex gnus-kill-files-directory
12183 All kill and score files will be stored in this directory, which is
12184 initialized from the @code{SAVEDIR} environment variable by default.
12185 This is @file{~/News/} by default.
12187 @item gnus-score-file-suffix
12188 @vindex gnus-score-file-suffix
12189 Suffix to add to the group name to arrive at the score file name
12190 (@samp{SCORE} by default.)
12192 @item gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12193 @vindex gnus-score-uncacheable-files
12194 @cindex score cache
12195 All score files are normally cached to avoid excessive re-loading of
12196 score files. However, if this might make you Emacs grow big and
12197 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
12198 @file{all.SCORE}, while it might be a good idea to not cache
12199 @file{comp.infosystems.www.authoring.misc.ADAPT}. In fact, this
12200 variable is @samp{ADAPT$} by default, so no adaptive score files will
12203 @item gnus-save-score
12204 @vindex gnus-save-score
12205 If you have really complicated score files, and do lots of batch
12206 scoring, then you might set this variable to @code{t}. This will make
12207 Gnus save the scores into the @file{.newsrc.eld} file.
12209 @item gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12210 @vindex gnus-score-interactive-default-score
12211 Score used by all the interactive raise/lower commands to raise/lower
12212 score with. Default is 1000, which may seem excessive, but this is to
12213 ensure that the adaptive scoring scheme gets enough room to play with.
12214 We don't want the small changes from the adaptive scoring to overwrite
12215 manually entered data.
12217 @item gnus-summary-default-score
12218 @vindex gnus-summary-default-score
12219 Default score of an article, which is 0 by default.
12221 @item gnus-summary-expunge-below
12222 @vindex gnus-summary-expunge-below
12223 Don't display the summary lines of articles that have scores lower than
12224 this variable. This is @code{nil} by default, which means that no
12225 articles will be hidden. This variable is local to the summary buffers,
12226 and has to be set from @code{gnus-summary-mode-hook}.
12228 @item gnus-score-over-mark
12229 @vindex gnus-score-over-mark
12230 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score over the
12231 default. Default is @samp{+}.
12233 @item gnus-score-below-mark
12234 @vindex gnus-score-below-mark
12235 Mark (in the third column) used for articles with a score below the
12236 default. Default is @samp{-}.
12238 @item gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12239 @vindex gnus-score-find-score-files-function
12240 Function used to find score files for the current group. This function
12241 is called with the name of the group as the argument.
12243 Predefined functions available are:
12246 @item gnus-score-find-single
12247 @findex gnus-score-find-single
12248 Only apply the group's own score file.
12250 @item gnus-score-find-bnews
12251 @findex gnus-score-find-bnews
12252 Apply all score files that match, using bnews syntax. This is the
12253 default. If the current group is @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}, for instance,
12254 @file{all.emacs.all.SCORE}, @file{not.alt.all.SCORE} and
12255 @file{gnu.all.SCORE} would all apply. In short, the instances of
12256 @samp{all} in the score file names are translated into @samp{.*}, and
12257 then a regexp match is done.
12259 This means that if you have some score entries that you want to apply to
12260 all groups, then you put those entries in the @file{all.SCORE} file.
12262 The score files are applied in a semi-random order, although Gnus will
12263 try to apply the more general score files before the more specific score
12264 files. It does this by looking at the number of elements in the score
12265 file names---discarding the @samp{all} elements.
12267 @item gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12268 @findex gnus-score-find-hierarchical
12269 Apply all score files from all the parent groups. This means that you
12270 can't have score files like @file{all.SCORE}, but you can have
12271 @file{SCORE}, @file{comp.SCORE} and @file{comp.emacs.SCORE}.
12274 This variable can also be a list of functions. In that case, all these
12275 functions will be called, and all the returned lists of score files will
12276 be applied. These functions can also return lists of score alists
12277 directly. In that case, the functions that return these non-file score
12278 alists should probably be placed before the ``real'' score file
12279 functions, to ensure that the last score file returned is the local
12282 @item gnus-score-expiry-days
12283 @vindex gnus-score-expiry-days
12284 This variable says how many days should pass before an unused score file
12285 entry is expired. If this variable is @code{nil}, no score file entries
12286 are expired. It's 7 by default.
12288 @item gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12289 @vindex gnus-update-score-entry-dates
12290 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, matching score entries will have
12291 their dates updated. (This is how Gnus controls expiry---all
12292 non-matching entries will become too old while matching entries will
12293 stay fresh and young.) However, if you set this variable to @code{nil},
12294 even matching entries will grow old and will have to face that oh-so
12297 @item gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12298 @vindex gnus-score-after-write-file-function
12299 Function called with the name of the score file just written.
12301 @item gnus-score-thread-simplify
12302 @vindex gnus-score-thread-simplify
12303 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, article subjects will be simplified
12304 for subject scoring purposes in the same manner as with
12305 threading---according to the current value of
12306 gnus-simplify-subject-functions. If the scoring entry uses
12307 @code{substring} or @code{exact} matching, the match will also be
12308 simplified in this manner.
12313 @node Score File Format
12314 @section Score File Format
12315 @cindex score file format
12317 A score file is an @code{emacs-lisp} file that normally contains just a
12318 single form. Casual users are not expected to edit these files;
12319 everything can be changed from the summary buffer.
12321 Anyway, if you'd like to dig into it yourself, here's an example:
12325 ("Lars Ingebrigtsen" -10000)
12327 ("larsi\\|lmi" -50000 nil R))
12329 ("Ding is Badd" nil 728373))
12331 ("alt.politics" -1000 728372 s))
12336 (mark-and-expunge -10)
12340 (files "/hom/larsi/News/gnu.SCORE")
12341 (exclude-files "all.SCORE")
12342 (local (gnus-newsgroup-auto-expire t)
12343 (gnus-summary-make-false-root empty))
12347 This example demonstrates most score file elements. For a different
12348 approach, see @pxref{Advanced Scoring}.
12350 Even though this looks much like lisp code, nothing here is actually
12351 @code{eval}ed. The lisp reader is used to read this form, though, so it
12352 has to be valid syntactically, if not semantically.
12354 Six keys are supported by this alist:
12359 If the key is a string, it is the name of the header to perform the
12360 match on. Scoring can only be performed on these eight headers:
12361 @code{From}, @code{Subject}, @code{References}, @code{Message-ID},
12362 @code{Xref}, @code{Lines}, @code{Chars} and @code{Date}. In addition to
12363 these headers, there are three strings to tell Gnus to fetch the entire
12364 article and do the match on larger parts of the article: @code{Body}
12365 will perform the match on the body of the article, @code{Head} will
12366 perform the match on the head of the article, and @code{All} will
12367 perform the match on the entire article. Note that using any of these
12368 last three keys will slow down group entry @emph{considerably}. The
12369 final ``header'' you can score on is @code{Followup}. These score
12370 entries will result in new score entries being added for all follow-ups
12371 to articles that matches these score entries.
12373 Following this key is a arbitrary number of score entries, where each
12374 score entry has one to four elements.
12378 The first element is the @dfn{match element}. On most headers this will
12379 be a string, but on the Lines and Chars headers, this must be an
12383 If the second element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{score
12384 element}. This number should be an integer in the neginf to posinf
12385 interval. This number is added to the score of the article if the match
12386 is successful. If this element is not present, the
12387 @code{gnus-score-interactive-default-score} number will be used
12388 instead. This is 1000 by default.
12391 If the third element is present, it should be a number---the @dfn{date
12392 element}. This date says when the last time this score entry matched,
12393 which provides a mechanism for expiring the score entries. It this
12394 element is not present, the score entry is permanent. The date is
12395 represented by the number of days since December 31, 1 BCE.
12398 If the fourth element is present, it should be a symbol---the @dfn{type
12399 element}. This element specifies what function should be used to see
12400 whether this score entry matches the article. What match types that can
12401 be used depends on what header you wish to perform the match on.
12404 @item From, Subject, References, Xref, Message-ID
12405 For most header types, there are the @code{r} and @code{R} (regexp), as
12406 well as @code{s} and @code{S} (substring) types, and @code{e} and
12407 @code{E} (exact match), and @code{w} (word match) types. If this
12408 element is not present, Gnus will assume that substring matching should
12409 be used. @code{R}, @code{S}, and @code{E} differ from the others in
12410 that the matches will be done in a case-sensitive manner. All these
12411 one-letter types are really just abbreviations for the @code{regexp},
12412 @code{string}, @code{exact}, and @code{word} types, which you can use
12413 instead, if you feel like.
12416 These two headers use different match types: @code{<}, @code{>},
12417 @code{=}, @code{>=} and @code{<=}.
12419 These predicates are true if
12422 (PREDICATE HEADER MATCH)
12425 evaluates to non-@code{nil}. For instance, the advanced match
12426 @code{("lines" 4 <)} (@pxref{Advanced Scoring}) will result in the
12433 Or to put it another way: When using @code{<} on @code{Lines} with 4 as
12434 the match, we get the score added if the article has less than 4 lines.
12435 (It's easy to get confused and think it's the other way around. But
12436 it's not. I think.)
12438 When matching on @code{Lines}, be careful because some backends (like
12439 @code{nndir}) do not generate @code{Lines} header, so every article ends
12440 up being marked as having 0 lines. This can lead to strange results if
12441 you happen to lower score of the articles with few lines.
12444 For the Date header we have three kinda silly match types:
12445 @code{before}, @code{at} and @code{after}. I can't really imagine this
12446 ever being useful, but, like, it would feel kinda silly not to provide
12447 this function. Just in case. You never know. Better safe than sorry.
12448 Once burnt, twice shy. Don't judge a book by its cover. Never not have
12449 sex on a first date. (I have been told that at least one person, and I
12450 quote, ``found this function indispensable'', however.)
12454 A more useful match type is @code{regexp}. With it, you can match the
12455 date string using a regular expression. The date is normalized to
12456 ISO8601 compact format first---@var{YYYYMMDD}@code{T}@var{HHMMSS}. If
12457 you want to match all articles that have been posted on April 1st in
12458 every year, you could use @samp{....0401.........} as a match string,
12459 for instance. (Note that the date is kept in its original time zone, so
12460 this will match articles that were posted when it was April 1st where
12461 the article was posted from. Time zones are such wholesome fun for the
12464 @item Head, Body, All
12465 These three match keys use the same match types as the @code{From} (etc)
12469 This match key is somewhat special, in that it will match the
12470 @code{From} header, and affect the score of not only the matching
12471 articles, but also all followups to the matching articles. This allows
12472 you e.g. increase the score of followups to your own articles, or
12473 decrease the score of followups to the articles of some known
12474 trouble-maker. Uses the same match types as the @code{From} header
12475 uses. (Using this match key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT}
12479 This match key works along the same lines as the @code{Followup} match
12480 key. If you say that you want to score on a (sub-)thread started by an article with a @code{Message-ID} @var{X}, then you add a
12481 @samp{thread} match. This will add a new @samp{thread} match for each
12482 article that has @var{X} in its @code{References} header. (These new
12483 @samp{thread} matches will use the @code{Message-ID}s of these matching
12484 articles.) This will ensure that you can raise/lower the score of an
12485 entire thread, even though some articles in the thread may not have
12486 complete @code{References} headers. Note that using this may lead to
12487 undeterministic scores of the articles in the thread. (Using this match
12488 key will lead to creation of @file{ADAPT} files.)
12492 @cindex Score File Atoms
12494 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12495 lower than this number will be marked as read.
12498 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12499 lower than this number will be removed from the summary buffer.
12501 @item mark-and-expunge
12502 The value of this entry should be a number. Any articles with a score
12503 lower than this number will be marked as read and removed from the
12506 @item thread-mark-and-expunge
12507 The value of this entry should be a number. All articles that belong to
12508 a thread that has a total score below this number will be marked as read
12509 and removed from the summary buffer. @code{gnus-thread-score-function}
12510 says how to compute the total score for a thread.
12513 The value of this entry should be any number of file names. These files
12514 are assumed to be score files as well, and will be loaded the same way
12517 @item exclude-files
12518 The clue of this entry should be any number of files. These files will
12519 not be loaded, even though they would normally be so, for some reason or
12523 The value of this entry will be @code{eval}el. This element will be
12524 ignored when handling global score files.
12527 Read-only score files will not be updated or saved. Global score files
12528 should feature this atom (@pxref{Global Score Files}). (Note:
12529 @dfn{Global} here really means @dfn{global}; not your personal
12530 apply-to-all-groups score files.)
12533 The value of this entry should be a number. Articles that do not have
12534 parents will get this number added to their scores. Imagine you follow
12535 some high-volume newsgroup, like @samp{comp.lang.c}. Most likely you
12536 will only follow a few of the threads, also want to see any new threads.
12538 You can do this with the following two score file entries:
12542 (mark-and-expunge -100)
12545 When you enter the group the first time, you will only see the new
12546 threads. You then raise the score of the threads that you find
12547 interesting (with @kbd{I T} or @kbd{I S}), and ignore (@kbd{C y}) the
12548 rest. Next time you enter the group, you will see new articles in the
12549 interesting threads, plus any new threads.
12551 I.e.---the orphan score atom is for high-volume groups where there
12552 exist a few interesting threads which can't be found automatically by
12553 ordinary scoring rules.
12556 This entry controls the adaptive scoring. If it is @code{t}, the
12557 default adaptive scoring rules will be used. If it is @code{ignore}, no
12558 adaptive scoring will be performed on this group. If it is a list, this
12559 list will be used as the adaptive scoring rules. If it isn't present,
12560 or is something other than @code{t} or @code{ignore}, the default
12561 adaptive scoring rules will be used. If you want to use adaptive
12562 scoring on most groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12563 @code{t}, and insert an @code{(adapt ignore)} in the groups where you do
12564 not want adaptive scoring. If you only want adaptive scoring in a few
12565 groups, you'd set @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to @code{nil}, and
12566 insert @code{(adapt t)} in the score files of the groups where you want
12570 All adaptive score entries will go to the file named by this entry. It
12571 will also be applied when entering the group. This atom might be handy
12572 if you want to adapt on several groups at once, using the same adaptive
12573 file for a number of groups.
12576 @cindex local variables
12577 The value of this entry should be a list of @code{(VAR VALUE)} pairs.
12578 Each @var{var} will be made buffer-local to the current summary buffer,
12579 and set to the value specified. This is a convenient, if somewhat
12580 strange, way of setting variables in some groups if you don't like hooks
12581 much. Note that the @var{value} won't be evaluated.
12585 @node Score File Editing
12586 @section Score File Editing
12588 You normally enter all scoring commands from the summary buffer, but you
12589 might feel the urge to edit them by hand as well, so we've supplied you
12590 with a mode for that.
12592 It's simply a slightly customized @code{emacs-lisp} mode, with these
12593 additional commands:
12598 @kindex C-c C-c (Score)
12599 @findex gnus-score-edit-done
12600 Save the changes you have made and return to the summary buffer
12601 (@code{gnus-score-edit-done}).
12604 @kindex C-c C-d (Score)
12605 @findex gnus-score-edit-insert-date
12606 Insert the current date in numerical format
12607 (@code{gnus-score-edit-insert-date}). This is really the day number, if
12608 you were wondering.
12611 @kindex C-c C-p (Score)
12612 @findex gnus-score-pretty-print
12613 The adaptive score files are saved in an unformatted fashion. If you
12614 intend to read one of these files, you want to @dfn{pretty print} it
12615 first. This command (@code{gnus-score-pretty-print}) does that for
12620 Type @kbd{M-x gnus-score-mode} to use this mode.
12622 @vindex gnus-score-mode-hook
12623 @code{gnus-score-menu-hook} is run in score mode buffers.
12625 In the summary buffer you can use commands like @kbd{V f} and @kbd{V
12626 e} to begin editing score files.
12629 @node Adaptive Scoring
12630 @section Adaptive Scoring
12631 @cindex adaptive scoring
12633 If all this scoring is getting you down, Gnus has a way of making it all
12634 happen automatically---as if by magic. Or rather, as if by artificial
12635 stupidity, to be precise.
12637 @vindex gnus-use-adaptive-scoring
12638 When you read an article, or mark an article as read, or kill an
12639 article, you leave marks behind. On exit from the group, Gnus can sniff
12640 these marks and add score elements depending on what marks it finds.
12641 You turn on this ability by setting @code{gnus-use-adaptive-scoring} to
12642 @code{t} or @code{(line)}. If you want score adaptively on separate
12643 words appearing in the subjects, you should set this variable to
12644 @code{(word)}. If you want to use both adaptive methods, set this
12645 variable to @code{(word line)}.
12647 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12648 To give you complete control over the scoring process, you can customize
12649 the @code{gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist} variable. For instance, it
12650 might look something like this:
12653 (defvar gnus-default-adaptive-score-alist
12654 '((gnus-unread-mark)
12655 (gnus-ticked-mark (from 4))
12656 (gnus-dormant-mark (from 5))
12657 (gnus-del-mark (from -4) (subject -1))
12658 (gnus-read-mark (from 4) (subject 2))
12659 (gnus-expirable-mark (from -1) (subject -1))
12660 (gnus-killed-mark (from -1) (subject -3))
12661 (gnus-kill-file-mark)
12662 (gnus-ancient-mark)
12663 (gnus-low-score-mark)
12664 (gnus-catchup-mark (from -1) (subject -1))))
12667 As you see, each element in this alist has a mark as a key (either a
12668 variable name or a ``real'' mark---a character). Following this key is
12669 a arbitrary number of header/score pairs. If there are no header/score
12670 pairs following the key, no adaptive scoring will be done on articles
12671 that have that key as the article mark. For instance, articles with
12672 @code{gnus-unread-mark} in the example above will not get adaptive score
12675 Each article can have only one mark, so just a single of these rules
12676 will be applied to each article.
12678 To take @code{gnus-del-mark} as an example---this alist says that all
12679 articles that have that mark (i.e., are marked with @samp{D}) will have a
12680 score entry added to lower based on the @code{From} header by -4, and
12681 lowered by @code{Subject} by -1. Change this to fit your prejudices.
12683 If you have marked 10 articles with the same subject with
12684 @code{gnus-del-mark}, the rule for that mark will be applied ten times.
12685 That means that that subject will get a score of ten times -1, which
12686 should be, unless I'm much mistaken, -10.
12688 If you have auto-expirable (mail) groups (@pxref{Expiring Mail}), all
12689 the read articles will be marked with the @samp{E} mark. This'll
12690 probably make adaptive scoring slightly impossible, so auto-expiring and
12691 adaptive scoring doesn't really mix very well.
12693 The headers you can score on are @code{from}, @code{subject},
12694 @code{message-id}, @code{references}, @code{xref}, @code{lines},
12695 @code{chars} and @code{date}. In addition, you can score on
12696 @code{followup}, which will create an adaptive score entry that matches
12697 on the @code{References} header using the @code{Message-ID} of the
12698 current article, thereby matching the following thread.
12700 You can also score on @code{thread}, which will try to score all
12701 articles that appear in a thread. @code{thread} matches uses a
12702 @code{Message-ID} to match on the @code{References} header of the
12703 article. If the match is made, the @code{Message-ID} of the article is
12704 added to the @code{thread} rule. (Think about it. I'd recommend two
12705 aspirins afterwards.)
12707 If you use this scheme, you should set the score file atom @code{mark}
12708 to something small---like -300, perhaps, to avoid having small random
12709 changes result in articles getting marked as read.
12711 After using adaptive scoring for a week or so, Gnus should start to
12712 become properly trained and enhance the authors you like best, and kill
12713 the authors you like least, without you having to say so explicitly.
12715 You can control what groups the adaptive scoring is to be performed on
12716 by using the score files (@pxref{Score File Format}). This will also
12717 let you use different rules in different groups.
12719 @vindex gnus-adaptive-file-suffix
12720 The adaptive score entries will be put into a file where the name is the
12721 group name with @code{gnus-adaptive-file-suffix} appended. The default
12724 @vindex gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit
12725 When doing adaptive scoring, substring or fuzzy matching would probably
12726 give you the best results in most cases. However, if the header one
12727 matches is short, the possibility for false positives is great, so if
12728 the length of the match is less than
12729 @code{gnus-score-exact-adapt-limit}, exact matching will be used. If
12730 this variable is @code{nil}, exact matching will always be used to avoid
12733 @vindex gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12734 As mentioned above, you can adapt either on individual words or entire
12735 headers. If you adapt on words, the
12736 @code{gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist} variable says what score
12737 each instance of a word should add given a mark.
12740 (setq gnus-default-adaptive-word-score-alist
12741 `((,gnus-read-mark . 30)
12742 (,gnus-catchup-mark . -10)
12743 (,gnus-killed-mark . -20)
12744 (,gnus-del-mark . -15)))
12747 This is the default value. If you have adaption on words enabled, every
12748 word that appears in subjects of articles marked with
12749 @code{gnus-read-mark} will result in a score rule that increase the
12750 score with 30 points.
12752 @vindex gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words
12753 @vindex gnus-ignored-adaptive-words
12754 Words that appear in the @code{gnus-default-ignored-adaptive-words} list
12755 will be ignored. If you wish to add more words to be ignored, use the
12756 @code{gnus-ignored-adaptive-words} list instead.
12758 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table
12759 When the scoring is done, @code{gnus-adaptive-word-syntax-table} is the
12760 syntax table in effect. It is similar to the standard syntax table, but
12761 it considers numbers to be non-word-constituent characters.
12763 @vindex gnus-adaptive-word-minimum
12764 If @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} is set to a number, the adaptive
12765 word scoring process will never bring down the score of an article to
12766 below this number. The default is @code{nil}.
12768 After using this scheme for a while, it might be nice to write a
12769 @code{gnus-psychoanalyze-user} command to go through the rules and see
12770 what words you like and what words you don't like. Or perhaps not.
12772 Note that the adaptive word scoring thing is highly experimental and is
12773 likely to change in the future. Initial impressions seem to indicate
12774 that it's totally useless as it stands. Some more work (involving more
12775 rigorous statistical methods) will have to be done to make this useful.
12778 @node Home Score File
12779 @section Home Score File
12781 The score file where new score file entries will go is called the
12782 @dfn{home score file}. This is normally (and by default) the score file
12783 for the group itself. For instance, the home score file for
12784 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus} is @file{gnu.emacs.gnus.SCORE}.
12786 However, this may not be what you want. It is often convenient to share
12787 a common home score file among many groups---all @samp{emacs} groups
12788 could perhaps use the same home score file.
12790 @vindex gnus-home-score-file
12791 The variable that controls this is @code{gnus-home-score-file}. It can
12796 A string. Then this file will be used as the home score file for all
12800 A function. The result of this function will be used as the home score
12801 file. The function will be called with the name of the group as the
12805 A list. The elements in this list can be:
12809 @var{(regexp file-name)}. If the @var{regexp} matches the group name,
12810 the @var{file-name} will will be used as the home score file.
12813 A function. If the function returns non-nil, the result will be used as
12814 the home score file.
12817 A string. Use the string as the home score file.
12820 The list will be traversed from the beginning towards the end looking
12825 So, if you want to use just a single score file, you could say:
12828 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12829 "my-total-score-file.SCORE")
12832 If you want to use @file{gnu.SCORE} for all @samp{gnu} groups and
12833 @file{rec.SCORE} for all @samp{rec} groups (and so on), you can say:
12835 @findex gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file
12837 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12838 'gnus-hierarchial-home-score-file)
12841 This is a ready-made function provided for your convenience.
12842 Other functions include
12845 @item gnus-current-home-score-file
12846 @findex gnus-current-home-score-file
12847 Return the ``current'' regular score file. This will make scoring
12848 commands add entry to the ``innermost'' matching score file.
12852 If you want to have one score file for the @samp{emacs} groups and
12853 another for the @samp{comp} groups, while letting all other groups use
12854 their own home score files:
12857 (setq gnus-home-score-file
12858 ;; All groups that match the regexp "\\.emacs"
12859 '(("\\.emacs" "emacs.SCORE")
12860 ;; All the comp groups in one score file
12861 ("^comp" "comp.SCORE")))
12864 @vindex gnus-home-adapt-file
12865 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file} works exactly the same way as
12866 @code{gnus-home-score-file}, but says what the home adaptive score file
12867 is instead. All new adaptive file entries will go into the file
12868 specified by this variable, and the same syntax is allowed.
12870 In addition to using @code{gnus-home-score-file} and
12871 @code{gnus-home-adapt-file}, you can also use group parameters
12872 (@pxref{Group Parameters}) and topic parameters (@pxref{Topic
12873 Parameters}) to achieve much the same. Group and topic parameters take
12874 precedence over this variable.
12877 @node Followups To Yourself
12878 @section Followups To Yourself
12880 Gnus offers two commands for picking out the @code{Message-ID} header in
12881 the current buffer. Gnus will then add a score rule that scores using
12882 this @code{Message-ID} on the @code{References} header of other
12883 articles. This will, in effect, increase the score of all articles that
12884 respond to the article in the current buffer. Quite useful if you want
12885 to easily note when people answer what you've said.
12889 @item gnus-score-followup-article
12890 @findex gnus-score-followup-article
12891 This will add a score to articles that directly follow up your own
12894 @item gnus-score-followup-thread
12895 @findex gnus-score-followup-thread
12896 This will add a score to all articles that appear in a thread ``below''
12900 @vindex message-sent-hook
12901 These two functions are both primarily meant to be used in hooks like
12902 @code{message-sent-hook}.
12904 If you look closely at your own @code{Message-ID}, you'll notice that
12905 the first two or three characters are always the same. Here's two of
12909 <x6u3u47icf.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12910 <x6sp9o7ibw.fsf@@eyesore.no>
12913 So ``my'' ident on this machine is @samp{x6}. This can be
12914 exploited---the following rule will raise the score on all followups to
12919 ("<x6[0-9a-z]+\\.fsf\\(_-_\\)?@@.*eyesore.no>"
12923 Whether it's the first two or first three characters that are ``yours''
12924 is system-dependent.
12928 @section Scoring Tips
12929 @cindex scoring tips
12935 @cindex scoring crossposts
12936 If you want to lower the score of crossposts, the line to match on is
12937 the @code{Xref} header.
12939 ("xref" (" talk.politics.misc:" -1000))
12942 @item Multiple crossposts
12943 If you want to lower the score of articles that have been crossposted to
12944 more than, say, 3 groups:
12946 ("xref" ("[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+ +[^:\n]+:[0-9]+" -1000 nil r))
12949 @item Matching on the body
12950 This is generally not a very good idea---it takes a very long time.
12951 Gnus actually has to fetch each individual article from the server. But
12952 you might want to anyway, I guess. Even though there are three match
12953 keys (@code{Head}, @code{Body} and @code{All}), you should choose one
12954 and stick with it in each score file. If you use any two, each article
12955 will be fetched @emph{twice}. If you want to match a bit on the
12956 @code{Head} and a bit on the @code{Body}, just use @code{All} for all
12959 @item Marking as read
12960 You will probably want to mark articles that has a score below a certain
12961 number as read. This is most easily achieved by putting the following
12962 in your @file{all.SCORE} file:
12966 You may also consider doing something similar with @code{expunge}.
12968 @item Negated character classes
12969 If you say stuff like @code{[^abcd]*}, you may get unexpected results.
12970 That will match newlines, which might lead to, well, The Unknown. Say
12971 @code{[^abcd\n]*} instead.
12975 @node Reverse Scoring
12976 @section Reverse Scoring
12977 @cindex reverse scoring
12979 If you want to keep just articles that have @samp{Sex with Emacs} in the
12980 subject header, and expunge all other articles, you could put something
12981 like this in your score file:
12985 ("Sex with Emacs" 2))
12990 So, you raise all articles that match @samp{Sex with Emacs} and mark the
12991 rest as read, and expunge them to boot.
12994 @node Global Score Files
12995 @section Global Score Files
12996 @cindex global score files
12998 Sure, other newsreaders have ``global kill files''. These are usually
12999 nothing more than a single kill file that applies to all groups, stored
13000 in the user's home directory. Bah! Puny, weak newsreaders!
13002 What I'm talking about here are Global Score Files. Score files from
13003 all over the world, from users everywhere, uniting all nations in one
13004 big, happy score file union! Ange-score! New and untested!
13006 @vindex gnus-global-score-files
13007 All you have to do to use other people's score files is to set the
13008 @code{gnus-global-score-files} variable. One entry for each score file,
13009 or each score file directory. Gnus will decide by itself what score
13010 files are applicable to which group.
13012 Say you want to use the score file
13013 @file{/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE} and
13014 all score files in the @file{/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score} directory:
13017 (setq gnus-global-score-files
13018 '("/ftp@@ftp.gnus.org:/pub/larsi/ding/score/soc.motss.SCORE"
13019 "/ftp@@ftp.some-where:/pub/score/"))
13022 @findex gnus-score-search-global-directories
13023 Simple, eh? Directory names must end with a @samp{/}. These
13024 directories are typically scanned only once during each Gnus session.
13025 If you feel the need to manually re-scan the remote directories, you can
13026 use the @code{gnus-score-search-global-directories} command.
13028 Note that, at present, using this option will slow down group entry
13029 somewhat. (That is---a lot.)
13031 If you want to start maintaining score files for other people to use,
13032 just put your score file up for anonymous ftp and announce it to the
13033 world. Become a retro-moderator! Participate in the retro-moderator
13034 wars sure to ensue, where retro-moderators battle it out for the
13035 sympathy of the people, luring them to use their score files on false
13036 premises! Yay! The net is saved!
13038 Here are some tips for the would-be retro-moderator, off the top of my
13044 Articles heavily crossposted are probably junk.
13046 To lower a single inappropriate article, lower by @code{Message-ID}.
13048 Particularly brilliant authors can be raised on a permanent basis.
13050 Authors that repeatedly post off-charter for the group can safely be
13051 lowered out of existence.
13053 Set the @code{mark} and @code{expunge} atoms to obliterate the nastiest
13054 articles completely.
13057 Use expiring score entries to keep the size of the file down. You
13058 should probably have a long expiry period, though, as some sites keep
13059 old articles for a long time.
13062 ... I wonder whether other newsreaders will support global score files
13063 in the future. @emph{Snicker}. Yup, any day now, newsreaders like Blue
13064 Wave, xrn and 1stReader are bound to implement scoring. Should we start
13065 holding our breath yet?
13069 @section Kill Files
13072 Gnus still supports those pesky old kill files. In fact, the kill file
13073 entries can now be expiring, which is something I wrote before Daniel
13074 Quinlan thought of doing score files, so I've left the code in there.
13076 In short, kill processing is a lot slower (and I do mean @emph{a lot})
13077 than score processing, so it might be a good idea to rewrite your kill
13078 files into score files.
13080 Anyway, a kill file is a normal @code{emacs-lisp} file. You can put any
13081 forms into this file, which means that you can use kill files as some
13082 sort of primitive hook function to be run on group entry, even though
13083 that isn't a very good idea.
13085 Normal kill files look like this:
13088 (gnus-kill "From" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13089 (gnus-kill "Subject" "ding")
13093 This will mark every article written by me as read, and remove the
13094 marked articles from the summary buffer. Very useful, you'll agree.
13096 Other programs use a totally different kill file syntax. If Gnus
13097 encounters what looks like a @code{rn} kill file, it will take a stab at
13100 Two summary functions for editing a GNUS kill file:
13105 @kindex M-k (Summary)
13106 @findex gnus-summary-edit-local-kill
13107 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-local-kill}).
13110 @kindex M-K (Summary)
13111 @findex gnus-summary-edit-global-kill
13112 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-summary-edit-global-kill}).
13115 Two group mode functions for editing the kill files:
13120 @kindex M-k (Group)
13121 @findex gnus-group-edit-local-kill
13122 Edit this group's kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-local-kill}).
13125 @kindex M-K (Group)
13126 @findex gnus-group-edit-global-kill
13127 Edit the general kill file (@code{gnus-group-edit-global-kill}).
13130 Kill file variables:
13133 @item gnus-kill-file-name
13134 @vindex gnus-kill-file-name
13135 A kill file for the group @samp{soc.motss} is normally called
13136 @file{soc.motss.KILL}. The suffix appended to the group name to get
13137 this file name is detailed by the @code{gnus-kill-file-name} variable.
13138 The ``global'' kill file (not in the score file sense of ``global'', of
13139 course) is just called @file{KILL}.
13141 @vindex gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13142 @item gnus-kill-save-kill-file
13143 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, Gnus will save the
13144 kill file after processing, which is necessary if you use expiring
13147 @item gnus-apply-kill-hook
13148 @vindex gnus-apply-kill-hook
13149 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored
13150 @findex gnus-apply-kill-file
13151 A hook called to apply kill files to a group. It is
13152 @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file)} by default. If you want to ignore the
13153 kill file if you have a score file for the same group, you can set this
13154 hook to @code{(gnus-apply-kill-file-unless-scored)}. If you don't want
13155 kill files to be processed, you should set this variable to @code{nil}.
13157 @item gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13158 @vindex gnus-kill-file-mode-hook
13159 A hook called in kill-file mode buffers.
13164 @node Converting Kill Files
13165 @section Converting Kill Files
13167 @cindex converting kill files
13169 If you have loads of old kill files, you may want to convert them into
13170 score files. If they are ``regular'', you can use
13171 the @file{gnus-kill-to-score.el} package; if not, you'll have to do it
13174 The kill to score conversion package isn't included in Gnus by default.
13175 You can fetch it from
13176 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/ding-other/gnus-kill-to-score}.
13178 If your old kill files are very complex---if they contain more
13179 non-@code{gnus-kill} forms than not, you'll have to convert them by
13180 hand. Or just let them be as they are. Gnus will still use them as
13188 GroupLens is a collaborative filtering system that helps you work
13189 together with other people to find the quality news articles out of the
13190 huge volume of news articles generated every day.
13192 To accomplish this the GroupLens system combines your opinions about
13193 articles you have already read with the opinions of others who have done
13194 likewise and gives you a personalized prediction for each unread news
13195 article. Think of GroupLens as a matchmaker. GroupLens watches how you
13196 rate articles, and finds other people that rate articles the same way.
13197 Once it has found some people you agree with it tells you, in the form
13198 of a prediction, what they thought of the article. You can use this
13199 prediction to help you decide whether or not you want to read the
13203 * Using GroupLens:: How to make Gnus use GroupLens.
13204 * Rating Articles:: Letting GroupLens know how you rate articles.
13205 * Displaying Predictions:: Displaying predictions given by GroupLens.
13206 * GroupLens Variables:: Customizing GroupLens.
13210 @node Using GroupLens
13211 @subsection Using GroupLens
13213 To use GroupLens you must register a pseudonym with your local Better
13215 @samp{http://www.cs.umn.edu/Research/GroupLens/bbb.html} is the only
13216 better bit in town at the moment.
13218 Once you have registered you'll need to set a couple of variables.
13222 @item gnus-use-grouplens
13223 @vindex gnus-use-grouplens
13224 Setting this variable to a non-@code{nil} value will make Gnus hook into
13225 all the relevant GroupLens functions.
13227 @item grouplens-pseudonym
13228 @vindex grouplens-pseudonym
13229 This variable should be set to the pseudonym you got when registering
13230 with the Better Bit Bureau.
13232 @item grouplens-newsgroups
13233 @vindex grouplens-newsgroups
13234 A list of groups that you want to get GroupLens predictions for.
13238 That's the minimum of what you need to get up and running with GroupLens.
13239 Once you've registered, GroupLens will start giving you scores for
13240 articles based on the average of what other people think. But, to get
13241 the real benefit of GroupLens you need to start rating articles
13242 yourself. Then the scores GroupLens gives you will be personalized for
13243 you, based on how the people you usually agree with have already rated.
13246 @node Rating Articles
13247 @subsection Rating Articles
13249 In GroupLens, an article is rated on a scale from 1 to 5, inclusive.
13250 Where 1 means something like this article is a waste of bandwidth and 5
13251 means that the article was really good. The basic question to ask
13252 yourself is, "on a scale from 1 to 5 would I like to see more articles
13255 There are four ways to enter a rating for an article in GroupLens.
13260 @kindex r (GroupLens)
13261 @findex bbb-summary-rate-article
13262 This function will prompt you for a rating on a scale of one to five.
13265 @kindex k (GroupLens)
13266 @findex grouplens-score-thread
13267 This function will prompt you for a rating, and rate all the articles in
13268 the thread. This is really useful for some of those long running giant
13269 threads in rec.humor.
13273 The next two commands, @kbd{n} and @kbd{,} take a numerical prefix to be
13274 the score of the article you're reading.
13279 @kindex n (GroupLens)
13280 @findex grouplens-next-unread-article
13281 Rate the article and go to the next unread article.
13284 @kindex , (GroupLens)
13285 @findex grouplens-best-unread-article
13286 Rate the article and go to the next unread article with the highest score.
13290 If you want to give the current article a score of 4 and then go to the
13291 next article, just type @kbd{4 n}.
13294 @node Displaying Predictions
13295 @subsection Displaying Predictions
13297 GroupLens makes a prediction for you about how much you will like a
13298 news article. The predictions from GroupLens are on a scale from 1 to
13299 5, where 1 is the worst and 5 is the best. You can use the predictions
13300 from GroupLens in one of three ways controlled by the variable
13301 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring}.
13303 @vindex gnus-grouplens-override-scoring
13304 There are three ways to display predictions in grouplens. You may
13305 choose to have the GroupLens scores contribute to, or override the
13306 regular gnus scoring mechanism. override is the default; however, some
13307 people prefer to see the Gnus scores plus the grouplens scores. To get
13308 the separate scoring behavior you need to set
13309 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'separate}. To have the
13310 GroupLens predictions combined with the grouplens scores set it to
13311 @code{'override} and to combine the scores set
13312 @code{gnus-grouplens-override-scoring} to @code{'combine}. When you use
13313 the combine option you will also want to set the values for
13314 @code{grouplens-prediction-offset} and
13315 @code{grouplens-score-scale-factor}.
13317 @vindex grouplens-prediction-display
13318 In either case, GroupLens gives you a few choices for how you would like
13319 to see your predictions displayed. The display of predictions is
13320 controlled by the @code{grouplens-prediction-display} variable.
13322 The following are valid values for that variable.
13325 @item prediction-spot
13326 The higher the prediction, the further to the right an @samp{*} is
13329 @item confidence-interval
13330 A numeric confidence interval.
13332 @item prediction-bar
13333 The higher the prediction, the longer the bar.
13335 @item confidence-bar
13336 Numerical confidence.
13338 @item confidence-spot
13339 The spot gets bigger with more confidence.
13341 @item prediction-num
13342 Plain-old numeric value.
13344 @item confidence-plus-minus
13345 Prediction +/- confidence.
13350 @node GroupLens Variables
13351 @subsection GroupLens Variables
13355 @item gnus-summary-grouplens-line-format
13356 The summary line format used in GroupLens-enhanced summary buffers. It
13357 accepts the same specs as the normal summary line format (@pxref{Summary
13358 Buffer Lines}). The default is @samp{%U%R%z%l%I%(%[%4L: %-20,20n%]%)
13361 @item grouplens-bbb-host
13362 Host running the bbbd server. @samp{grouplens.cs.umn.edu} is the
13365 @item grouplens-bbb-port
13366 Port of the host running the bbbd server. The default is 9000.
13368 @item grouplens-score-offset
13369 Offset the prediction by this value. In other words, subtract the
13370 prediction value by this number to arrive at the effective score. The
13373 @item grouplens-score-scale-factor
13374 This variable allows the user to magnify the effect of GroupLens scores.
13375 The scale factor is applied after the offset. The default is 1.
13380 @node Advanced Scoring
13381 @section Advanced Scoring
13383 Scoring on Subjects and From headers is nice enough, but what if you're
13384 really interested in what a person has to say only when she's talking
13385 about a particular subject? Or what if you really don't want to
13386 read what person A has to say when she's following up to person B, but
13387 want to read what she says when she's following up to person C?
13389 By using advanced scoring rules you may create arbitrarily complex
13393 * Advanced Scoring Syntax:: A definition.
13394 * Advanced Scoring Examples:: What they look like.
13395 * Advanced Scoring Tips:: Getting the most out of it.
13399 @node Advanced Scoring Syntax
13400 @subsection Advanced Scoring Syntax
13402 Ordinary scoring rules have a string as the first element in the rule.
13403 Advanced scoring rules have a list as the first element. The second
13404 element is the score to be applied if the first element evaluated to a
13405 non-@code{nil} value.
13407 These lists may consist of three logical operators, one redirection
13408 operator, and various match operators.
13415 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13416 one that evaluates to @code{false}, and then it'll stop. If all arguments
13417 evaluate to @code{true} values, then this operator will return
13422 This logical operator will evaluate each of its arguments until it finds
13423 one that evaluates to @code{true}. If no arguments are @code{true},
13424 then this operator will return @code{false}.
13429 This logical operator only takes a single argument. It returns the
13430 logical negation of the value of its argument.
13434 There is an @dfn{indirection operator} that will make its arguments
13435 apply to the ancestors of the current article being scored. For
13436 instance, @code{1-} will make score rules apply to the parent of the
13437 current article. @code{2-} will make score rules apply to the
13438 grandparent of the current article. Alternatively, you can write
13439 @code{^^}, where the number of @code{^}s (carets) says how far back into
13440 the ancestry you want to go.
13442 Finally, we have the match operators. These are the ones that do the
13443 real work. Match operators are header name strings followed by a match
13444 and a match type. A typical match operator looks like @samp{("from"
13445 "Lars Ingebrigtsen" s)}. The header names are the same as when using
13446 simple scoring, and the match types are also the same.
13449 @node Advanced Scoring Examples
13450 @subsection Advanced Scoring Examples
13452 Let's say you want to increase the score of articles written by Lars
13453 when he's talking about Gnus:
13457 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13458 ("subject" "Gnus"))
13464 When he writes long articles, he sometimes has something nice to say:
13468 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13475 However, when he responds to things written by Reig Eigil Logge, you
13476 really don't want to read what he's written:
13480 ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen")
13481 (1- ("from" "Reig Eigir Logge")))
13485 Everybody that follows up Redmondo when he writes about disappearing
13486 socks should have their scores raised, but only when they talk about
13487 white socks. However, when Lars talks about socks, it's usually not
13494 ("from" "redmondo@@.*no" r)
13495 ("body" "disappearing.*socks" t)))
13496 (! ("from" "Lars Ingebrigtsen"))
13497 ("body" "white.*socks"))
13501 The possibilities are endless.
13504 @node Advanced Scoring Tips
13505 @subsection Advanced Scoring Tips
13507 The @code{&} and @code{|} logical operators do short-circuit logic.
13508 That is, they stop processing their arguments when it's clear what the
13509 result of the operation will be. For instance, if one of the arguments
13510 of an @code{&} evaluates to @code{false}, there's no point in evaluating
13511 the rest of the arguments. This means that you should put slow matches
13512 (@samp{body}, @samp{header}) last and quick matches (@samp{from},
13513 @samp{subject}) first.
13515 The indirection arguments (@code{1-} and so on) will make their
13516 arguments work on previous generations of the thread. If you say
13527 Then that means "score on the from header of the grandparent of the
13528 current article". An indirection is quite fast, but it's better to say:
13534 ("subject" "Gnus")))
13541 (1- ("from" "Lars"))
13542 (1- ("subject" "Gnus")))
13547 @section Score Decays
13548 @cindex score decays
13551 You may find that your scores have a tendency to grow without
13552 bounds, especially if you're using adaptive scoring. If scores get too
13553 big, they lose all meaning---they simply max out and it's difficult to
13554 use them in any sensible way.
13556 @vindex gnus-decay-scores
13557 @findex gnus-decay-score
13558 @vindex gnus-decay-score-function
13559 Gnus provides a mechanism for decaying scores to help with this problem.
13560 When score files are loaded and @code{gnus-decay-scores} is
13561 non-@code{nil}, Gnus will run the score files through the decaying
13562 mechanism thereby lowering the scores of all non-permanent score rules.
13563 The decay itself if performed by the @code{gnus-decay-score-function}
13564 function, which is @code{gnus-decay-score} by default. Here's the
13565 definition of that function:
13568 (defun gnus-decay-score (score)
13569 "Decay SCORE according to `gnus-score-decay-constant' and `gnus-score-decay-scale'."
13572 (* (if (< score 0) 1 -1)
13574 (max gnus-score-decay-constant
13576 gnus-score-decay-scale)))))))
13579 @vindex gnus-score-decay-scale
13580 @vindex gnus-score-decay-constant
13581 @code{gnus-score-decay-constant} is 3 by default and
13582 @code{gnus-score-decay-scale} is 0.05. This should cause the following:
13586 Scores between -3 and 3 will be set to 0 when this function is called.
13589 Scores with magnitudes between 3 and 60 will be shrunk by 3.
13592 Scores with magnitudes greater than 60 will be shrunk by 5% of the
13596 If you don't like this decay function, write your own. It is called
13597 with the score to be decayed as its only parameter, and it should return
13598 the new score, which should be an integer.
13600 Gnus will try to decay scores once a day. If you haven't run Gnus for
13601 four days, Gnus will decay the scores four times, for instance.
13608 * Process/Prefix:: A convention used by many treatment commands.
13609 * Interactive:: Making Gnus ask you many questions.
13610 * Symbolic Prefixes:: How to supply some Gnus functions with options.
13611 * Formatting Variables:: You can specify what buffers should look like.
13612 * Windows Configuration:: Configuring the Gnus buffer windows.
13613 * Faces and Fonts:: How to change how faces look.
13614 * Compilation:: How to speed Gnus up.
13615 * Mode Lines:: Displaying information in the mode lines.
13616 * Highlighting and Menus:: Making buffers look all nice and cozy.
13617 * Buttons:: Get tendonitis in ten easy steps!
13618 * Daemons:: Gnus can do things behind your back.
13619 * NoCeM:: How to avoid spam and other fatty foods.
13620 * Undo:: Some actions can be undone.
13621 * Moderation:: What to do if you're a moderator.
13622 * XEmacs Enhancements:: There are more pictures and stuff under XEmacs.
13623 * Fuzzy Matching:: What's the big fuzz?
13624 * Thwarting Email Spam:: A how-to on avoiding unsolicited commercial email.
13625 * Various Various:: Things that are really various.
13629 @node Process/Prefix
13630 @section Process/Prefix
13631 @cindex process/prefix convention
13633 Many functions, among them functions for moving, decoding and saving
13634 articles, use what is known as the @dfn{Process/Prefix convention}.
13636 This is a method for figuring out what articles the user wants the
13637 command to be performed on.
13641 If the numeric prefix is N, perform the operation on the next N
13642 articles, starting with the current one. If the numeric prefix is
13643 negative, perform the operation on the previous N articles, starting
13644 with the current one.
13646 @vindex transient-mark-mode
13647 If @code{transient-mark-mode} in non-@code{nil} and the region is
13648 active, all articles in the region will be worked upon.
13650 If there is no numeric prefix, but some articles are marked with the
13651 process mark, perform the operation on the articles marked with
13654 If there is neither a numeric prefix nor any articles marked with the
13655 process mark, just perform the operation on the current article.
13657 Quite simple, really, but it needs to be made clear so that surprises
13660 Commands that react to the process mark will push the current list of
13661 process marked articles onto a stack and will then clear all process
13662 marked articles. You can restore the previous configuration with the
13663 @kbd{M P y} command (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
13665 @vindex gnus-summary-goto-unread
13666 One thing that seems to shock & horrify lots of people is that, for
13667 instance, @kbd{3 d} does exactly the same as @kbd{d} @kbd{d} @kbd{d}.
13668 Since each @kbd{d} (which marks the current article as read) by default
13669 goes to the next unread article after marking, this means that @kbd{3 d}
13670 will mark the next three unread articles as read, no matter what the
13671 summary buffer looks like. Set @code{gnus-summary-goto-unread} to
13672 @code{nil} for a more straightforward action.
13676 @section Interactive
13677 @cindex interaction
13681 @item gnus-novice-user
13682 @vindex gnus-novice-user
13683 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you are either a newcomer to the
13684 World of Usenet, or you are very cautious, which is a nice thing to be,
13685 really. You will be given questions of the type ``Are you sure you want
13686 to do this?'' before doing anything dangerous. This is @code{t} by
13689 @item gnus-expert-user
13690 @vindex gnus-expert-user
13691 If this variable is non-@code{nil}, you will seldom be asked any
13692 questions by Gnus. It will simply assume you know what you're doing, no
13693 matter how strange.
13695 @item gnus-interactive-catchup
13696 @vindex gnus-interactive-catchup
13697 Require confirmation before catching up a group if non-@code{nil}. It
13698 is @code{t} by default.
13700 @item gnus-interactive-exit
13701 @vindex gnus-interactive-exit
13702 Require confirmation before exiting Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
13707 @node Symbolic Prefixes
13708 @section Symbolic Prefixes
13709 @cindex symbolic prefixes
13711 Quite a lot of Emacs commands react to the (numeric) prefix. For
13712 instance, @kbd{C-u 4 C-f} moves point four characters forward, and
13713 @kbd{C-u 9 0 0 I s s p} adds a permanent @code{Subject} substring score
13714 rule of 900 to the current article.
13716 This is all nice and well, but what if you want to give a command some
13717 additional information? Well, what most commands do is interpret the
13718 ``raw'' prefix in some special way. @kbd{C-u 0 C-x C-s} means that one
13719 doesn't want a backup file to be created when saving the current buffer,
13720 for instance. But what if you want to save without making a backup
13721 file, and you want Emacs to flash lights and play a nice tune at the
13722 same time? You can't, and you're probably perfectly happy that way.
13724 @kindex M-i (Summary)
13725 @findex gnus-symbolic-argument
13726 I'm not, so I've added a second prefix---the @dfn{symbolic prefix}. The
13727 prefix key is @kbd{M-i} (@code{gnus-symbolic-argument}), and the next
13728 character typed in is the value. You can stack as many @kbd{M-i}
13729 prefixes as you want. @kbd{M-i a M-C-u} means ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u}
13730 command the symbolic prefix @code{a}''. @kbd{M-i a M-i b M-C-u} means
13731 ``feed the @kbd{M-C-u} command the symbolic prefixes @code{a} and
13732 @code{b}''. You get the drift.
13734 Typing in symbolic prefixes to commands that don't accept them doesn't
13735 hurt, but it doesn't do any good either. Currently not many Gnus
13736 functions make use of the symbolic prefix.
13738 If you're interested in how Gnus implements this, @pxref{Extended
13742 @node Formatting Variables
13743 @section Formatting Variables
13744 @cindex formatting variables
13746 Throughout this manual you've probably noticed lots of variables called
13747 things like @code{gnus-group-line-format} and
13748 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}. These control how Gnus is to
13749 output lines in the various buffers. There's quite a lot of them.
13750 Fortunately, they all use the same syntax, so there's not that much to
13753 Here's an example format spec (from the group buffer): @samp{%M%S%5y:
13754 %(%g%)\n}. We see that it is indeed extremely ugly, and that there are
13755 lots of percentages everywhere.
13758 * Formatting Basics:: A formatting variable is basically a format string.
13759 * Mode Line Formatting:: Some rules about mode line formatting variables.
13760 * Advanced Formatting:: Modifying output in various ways.
13761 * User-Defined Specs:: Having Gnus call your own functions.
13762 * Formatting Fonts:: Making the formatting look colorful and nice.
13765 Currently Gnus uses the following formatting variables:
13766 @code{gnus-group-line-format}, @code{gnus-summary-line-format},
13767 @code{gnus-server-line-format}, @code{gnus-topic-line-format},
13768 @code{gnus-group-mode-line-format},
13769 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format},
13770 @code{gnus-article-mode-line-format},
13771 @code{gnus-server-mode-line-format}, and
13772 @code{gnus-summary-pick-line-format}.
13774 All these format variables can also be arbitrary elisp forms. In that
13775 case, they will be @code{eval}ed to insert the required lines.
13777 @kindex M-x gnus-update-format
13778 @findex gnus-update-format
13779 Gnus includes a command to help you while creating your own format
13780 specs. @kbd{M-x gnus-update-format} will @code{eval} the current form,
13781 update the spec in question and pop you to a buffer where you can
13782 examine the resulting lisp code to be run to generate the line.
13786 @node Formatting Basics
13787 @subsection Formatting Basics
13789 Each @samp{%} element will be replaced by some string or other when the
13790 buffer in question is generated. @samp{%5y} means ``insert the @samp{y}
13791 spec, and pad with spaces to get a 5-character field''.
13793 As with normal C and Emacs Lisp formatting strings, the numerical
13794 modifier between the @samp{%} and the formatting type character will
13795 @dfn{pad} the output so that it is always at least that long.
13796 @samp{%5y} will make the field always (at least) five characters wide by
13797 padding with spaces to the left. If you say @samp{%-5y}, it will pad to
13800 You may also wish to limit the length of the field to protect against
13801 particularly wide values. For that you can say @samp{%4,6y}, which
13802 means that the field will never be more than 6 characters wide and never
13803 less than 4 characters wide.
13806 @node Mode Line Formatting
13807 @subsection Mode Line Formatting
13809 Mode line formatting variables (e.g.,
13810 @code{gnus-summary-mode-line-format}) follow the same rules as other,
13811 buffer line oriented formatting variables (@pxref{Formatting Basics})
13812 with the following two differences:
13817 There must be no newline (@samp{\n}) at the end.
13820 The special @samp{%%b} spec can be used to display the buffer name.
13821 Well, it's no spec at all, really---@samp{%%} is just a way to quote
13822 @samp{%} to allow it to pass through the formatting machinery unmangled,
13823 so that Emacs receives @samp{%b}, which is something the Emacs mode line
13824 display interprets to mean ``show the buffer name''. For a full list of
13825 mode line specs Emacs understands, see the documentation of the
13826 @code{mode-line-format} variable.
13831 @node Advanced Formatting
13832 @subsection Advanced Formatting
13834 It is frequently useful to post-process the fields in some way.
13835 Padding, limiting, cutting off parts and suppressing certain values can
13836 be achieved by using @dfn{tilde modifiers}. A typical tilde spec might
13837 look like @samp{%~(cut 3)~(ignore "0")y}.
13839 These are the valid modifiers:
13844 Pad the field to the left with spaces until it reaches the required
13848 Pad the field to the right with spaces until it reaches the required
13853 Cut off characters from the left until it reaches the specified length.
13856 Cut off characters from the right until it reaches the specified
13861 Cut off the specified number of characters from the left.
13864 Cut off the specified number of characters from the right.
13867 Return an empty string if the field is equal to the specified value.
13870 Use the specified form as the field value when the @samp{@@} spec is
13874 Let's take an example. The @samp{%o} spec in the summary mode lines
13875 will return a date in compact ISO8601 format---@samp{19960809T230410}.
13876 This is quite a mouthful, so we want to shave off the century number and
13877 the time, leaving us with a six-character date. That would be
13878 @samp{%~(cut-left 2)~(max-right 6)~(pad 6)o}. (Cutting is done before
13879 maxing, and we need the padding to ensure that the date is never less
13880 than 6 characters to make it look nice in columns.)
13882 Ignoring is done first; then cutting; then maxing; and then as the very
13883 last operation, padding.
13885 If you use lots of these advanced thingies, you'll find that Gnus gets
13886 quite slow. This can be helped enormously by running @kbd{M-x
13887 gnus-compile} when you are satisfied with the look of your lines.
13888 @xref{Compilation}.
13891 @node User-Defined Specs
13892 @subsection User-Defined Specs
13894 All the specs allow for inserting user defined specifiers---@samp{u}.
13895 The next character in the format string should be a letter. Gnus
13896 will call the function @code{gnus-user-format-function-}@samp{X}, where
13897 @samp{X} is the letter following @samp{%u}. The function will be passed
13898 a single parameter---what the parameter means depends on what buffer
13899 it's being called from. The function should return a string, which will
13900 be inserted into the buffer just like information from any other
13901 specifier. This function may also be called with dummy values, so it
13902 should protect against that.
13904 You can also use tilde modifiers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting} to achieve
13905 much the same without defining new functions. Here's an example:
13906 @samp{%~(form (count-lines (point-min) (point)))@@}. The form
13907 given here will be evaluated to yield the current line number, and then
13911 @node Formatting Fonts
13912 @subsection Formatting Fonts
13914 There are specs for highlighting, and these are shared by all the format
13915 variables. Text inside the @samp{%(} and @samp{%)} specifiers will get
13916 the special @code{mouse-face} property set, which means that it will be
13917 highlighted (with @code{gnus-mouse-face}) when you put the mouse pointer
13920 Text inside the @samp{%@{} and @samp{%@}} specifiers will have their
13921 normal faces set using @code{gnus-face-0}, which is @code{bold} by
13922 default. If you say @samp{%1@{}, you'll get @code{gnus-face-1} instead,
13923 and so on. Create as many faces as you wish. The same goes for the
13924 @code{mouse-face} specs---you can say @samp{%3(hello%)} to have
13925 @samp{hello} mouse-highlighted with @code{gnus-mouse-face-3}.
13927 Here's an alternative recipe for the group buffer:
13930 ;; Create three face types.
13931 (setq gnus-face-1 'bold)
13932 (setq gnus-face-3 'italic)
13934 ;; We want the article count to be in
13935 ;; a bold and green face. So we create
13936 ;; a new face called `my-green-bold'.
13937 (copy-face 'bold 'my-green-bold)
13939 (set-face-foreground 'my-green-bold "ForestGreen")
13940 (setq gnus-face-2 'my-green-bold)
13942 ;; Set the new & fancy format.
13943 (setq gnus-group-line-format
13944 "%M%S%3@{%5y%@}%2[:%] %(%1@{%g%@}%)\n")
13947 I'm sure you'll be able to use this scheme to create totally unreadable
13948 and extremely vulgar displays. Have fun!
13950 Note that the @samp{%(} specs (and friends) do not make any sense on the
13951 mode-line variables.
13954 @node Windows Configuration
13955 @section Windows Configuration
13956 @cindex windows configuration
13958 No, there's nothing here about X, so be quiet.
13960 @vindex gnus-use-full-window
13961 If @code{gnus-use-full-window} non-@code{nil}, Gnus will delete all
13962 other windows and occupy the entire Emacs screen by itself. It is
13963 @code{t} by default.
13965 @vindex gnus-buffer-configuration
13966 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} describes how much space each Gnus
13967 buffer should be given. Here's an excerpt of this variable:
13970 ((group (vertical 1.0 (group 1.0 point)
13971 (if gnus-carpal (group-carpal 4))))
13972 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13976 This is an alist. The @dfn{key} is a symbol that names some action or
13977 other. For instance, when displaying the group buffer, the window
13978 configuration function will use @code{group} as the key. A full list of
13979 possible names is listed below.
13981 The @dfn{value} (i.e., the @dfn{split}) says how much space each buffer
13982 should occupy. To take the @code{article} split as an example -
13985 (article (vertical 1.0 (summary 0.25 point)
13989 This @dfn{split} says that the summary buffer should occupy 25% of upper
13990 half of the screen, and that it is placed over the article buffer. As
13991 you may have noticed, 100% + 25% is actually 125% (yup, I saw y'all
13992 reaching for that calculator there). However, the special number
13993 @code{1.0} is used to signal that this buffer should soak up all the
13994 rest of the space available after the rest of the buffers have taken
13995 whatever they need. There should be only one buffer with the @code{1.0}
13996 size spec per split.
13998 Point will be put in the buffer that has the optional third element
13999 @code{point}. In a @code{frame} split, the last subsplit having a leaf
14000 split where the tag @code{frame-focus} is a member (i.e. is the third or
14001 fourth element in the list, depending on whether the @code{point} tag is
14002 present) gets focus.
14004 Here's a more complicated example:
14007 (article (vertical 1.0 (group 4)
14008 (summary 0.25 point)
14009 (if gnus-carpal (summary-carpal 4))
14013 If the size spec is an integer instead of a floating point number,
14014 then that number will be used to say how many lines a buffer should
14015 occupy, not a percentage.
14017 If the @dfn{split} looks like something that can be @code{eval}ed (to be
14018 precise---if the @code{car} of the split is a function or a subr), this
14019 split will be @code{eval}ed. If the result is non-@code{nil}, it will
14020 be used as a split. This means that there will be three buffers if
14021 @code{gnus-carpal} is @code{nil}, and four buffers if @code{gnus-carpal}
14024 Not complicated enough for you? Well, try this on for size:
14027 (article (horizontal 1.0
14032 (summary 0.25 point)
14037 Whoops. Two buffers with the mystery 100% tag. And what's that
14038 @code{horizontal} thingie?
14040 If the first element in one of the split is @code{horizontal}, Gnus will
14041 split the window horizontally, giving you two windows side-by-side.
14042 Inside each of these strips you may carry on all you like in the normal
14043 fashion. The number following @code{horizontal} says what percentage of
14044 the screen is to be given to this strip.
14046 For each split, there @emph{must} be one element that has the 100% tag.
14047 The splitting is never accurate, and this buffer will eat any leftover
14048 lines from the splits.
14050 To be slightly more formal, here's a definition of what a valid split
14054 split = frame | horizontal | vertical | buffer | form
14055 frame = "(frame " size *split ")"
14056 horizontal = "(horizontal " size *split ")"
14057 vertical = "(vertical " size *split ")"
14058 buffer = "(" buffer-name " " size *[ "point" ] *[ "frame-focus"] ")"
14059 size = number | frame-params
14060 buffer-name = group | article | summary ...
14063 The limitations are that the @code{frame} split can only appear as the
14064 top-level split. @var{form} should be an Emacs Lisp form that should
14065 return a valid split. We see that each split is fully recursive, and
14066 may contain any number of @code{vertical} and @code{horizontal} splits.
14068 @vindex gnus-window-min-width
14069 @vindex gnus-window-min-height
14070 @cindex window height
14071 @cindex window width
14072 Finding the right sizes can be a bit complicated. No window may be less
14073 than @code{gnus-window-min-height} (default 1) characters high, and all
14074 windows must be at least @code{gnus-window-min-width} (default 1)
14075 characters wide. Gnus will try to enforce this before applying the
14076 splits. If you want to use the normal Emacs window width/height limit,
14077 you can just set these two variables to @code{nil}.
14079 If you're not familiar with Emacs terminology, @code{horizontal} and
14080 @code{vertical} splits may work the opposite way of what you'd expect.
14081 Windows inside a @code{horizontal} split are shown side-by-side, and
14082 windows within a @code{vertical} split are shown above each other.
14084 @findex gnus-configure-frame
14085 If you want to experiment with window placement, a good tip is to call
14086 @code{gnus-configure-frame} directly with a split. This is the function
14087 that does all the real work when splitting buffers. Below is a pretty
14088 nonsensical configuration with 5 windows; two for the group buffer and
14089 three for the article buffer. (I said it was nonsensical.) If you
14090 @code{eval} the statement below, you can get an idea of how that would
14091 look straight away, without going through the normal Gnus channels.
14092 Play with it until you're satisfied, and then use
14093 @code{gnus-add-configuration} to add your new creation to the buffer
14094 configuration list.
14097 (gnus-configure-frame
14101 (article 0.3 point))
14109 You might want to have several frames as well. No prob---just use the
14110 @code{frame} split:
14113 (gnus-configure-frame
14116 (summary 0.25 point frame-focus)
14118 (vertical ((height . 5) (width . 15)
14119 (user-position . t)
14120 (left . -1) (top . 1))
14125 This split will result in the familiar summary/article window
14126 configuration in the first (or ``main'') frame, while a small additional
14127 frame will be created where picons will be shown. As you can see,
14128 instead of the normal @code{1.0} top-level spec, each additional split
14129 should have a frame parameter alist as the size spec.
14130 @xref{Frame Parameters, , Frame Parameters, elisp, The GNU Emacs Lisp
14131 Reference Manual}. Under XEmacs, a frame property list will be
14132 accepted, too---for instance, @code{(height 5 width 15 left -1 top 1)}
14135 Here's a list of all possible keys for
14136 @code{gnus-buffer-configuration}:
14138 @code{group}, @code{summary}, @code{article}, @code{server},
14139 @code{browse}, @code{message}, @code{pick}, @code{info},
14140 @code{summary-faq}, @code{edit-group}, @code{edit-server},
14141 @code{edit-score}, @code{post}, @code{reply}, @code{forward},
14142 @code{reply-yank}, @code{mail-bounce}, @code{draft}, @code{pipe},
14143 @code{bug}, @code{compose-bounce}, and @code{score-trace}.
14145 Note that the @code{message} key is used for both
14146 @code{gnus-group-mail} and @code{gnus-summary-mail-other-window}. If
14147 it is desirable to distinguish between the two, something like this
14151 (message (horizontal 1.0
14152 (vertical 1.0 (message 1.0 point))
14154 (if (buffer-live-p gnus-summary-buffer)
14159 @findex gnus-add-configuration
14160 Since the @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} variable is so long and
14161 complicated, there's a function you can use to ease changing the config
14162 of a single setting: @code{gnus-add-configuration}. If, for instance,
14163 you want to change the @code{article} setting, you could say:
14166 (gnus-add-configuration
14167 '(article (vertical 1.0
14169 (summary .25 point)
14173 You'd typically stick these @code{gnus-add-configuration} calls in your
14174 @file{.gnus.el} file or in some startup hook---they should be run after
14175 Gnus has been loaded.
14177 @vindex gnus-always-force-window-configuration
14178 If all windows mentioned in the configuration are already visible, Gnus
14179 won't change the window configuration. If you always want to force the
14180 ``right'' window configuration, you can set
14181 @code{gnus-always-force-window-configuration} to non-@code{nil}.
14184 @node Faces and Fonts
14185 @section Faces and Fonts
14190 Fiddling with fonts and faces used to be very difficult, but these days
14191 it is very simple. You simply say @kbd{M-x customize-face}, pick out
14192 the face you want to alter, and alter it via the standard Customize
14197 @section Compilation
14198 @cindex compilation
14199 @cindex byte-compilation
14201 @findex gnus-compile
14203 Remember all those line format specification variables?
14204 @code{gnus-summary-line-format}, @code{gnus-group-line-format}, and so
14205 on. Now, Gnus will of course heed whatever these variables are, but,
14206 unfortunately, changing them will mean a quite significant slow-down.
14207 (The default values of these variables have byte-compiled functions
14208 associated with them, while the user-generated versions do not, of
14211 To help with this, you can run @kbd{M-x gnus-compile} after you've
14212 fiddled around with the variables and feel that you're (kind of)
14213 satisfied. This will result in the new specs being byte-compiled, and
14214 you'll get top speed again. Gnus will save these compiled specs in the
14215 @file{.newsrc.eld} file. (User-defined functions aren't compiled by
14216 this function, though---you should compile them yourself by sticking
14217 them into the @code{.gnus.el} file and byte-compiling that file.)
14221 @section Mode Lines
14224 @vindex gnus-updated-mode-lines
14225 @code{gnus-updated-mode-lines} says what buffers should keep their mode
14226 lines updated. It is a list of symbols. Supported symbols include
14227 @code{group}, @code{article}, @code{summary}, @code{server},
14228 @code{browse}, and @code{tree}. If the corresponding symbol is present,
14229 Gnus will keep that mode line updated with information that may be
14230 pertinent. If this variable is @code{nil}, screen refresh may be
14233 @cindex display-time
14235 @vindex gnus-mode-non-string-length
14236 By default, Gnus displays information on the current article in the mode
14237 lines of the summary and article buffers. The information Gnus wishes
14238 to display (e.g. the subject of the article) is often longer than the
14239 mode lines, and therefore have to be cut off at some point. The
14240 @code{gnus-mode-non-string-length} variable says how long the other
14241 elements on the line is (i.e., the non-info part). If you put
14242 additional elements on the mode line (e.g. a clock), you should modify
14245 @c Hook written by Francesco Potorti` <pot@cnuce.cnr.it>
14247 (add-hook 'display-time-hook
14248 (lambda () (setq gnus-mode-non-string-length
14250 (if line-number-mode 5 0)
14251 (if column-number-mode 4 0)
14252 (length display-time-string)))))
14255 If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the default), the mode line
14256 strings won't be chopped off, and they won't be padded either. Note
14257 that the default is unlikely to be desirable, as even the percentage
14258 complete in the buffer may be crowded off the mode line; the user should
14259 configure this variable appropriately for her configuration.
14262 @node Highlighting and Menus
14263 @section Highlighting and Menus
14265 @cindex highlighting
14268 @vindex gnus-visual
14269 The @code{gnus-visual} variable controls most of the Gnus-prettifying
14270 aspects. If @code{nil}, Gnus won't attempt to create menus or use fancy
14271 colors or fonts. This will also inhibit loading the @file{gnus-vis.el}
14274 This variable can be a list of visual properties that are enabled. The
14275 following elements are valid, and are all included by default:
14278 @item group-highlight
14279 Do highlights in the group buffer.
14280 @item summary-highlight
14281 Do highlights in the summary buffer.
14282 @item article-highlight
14283 Do highlights in the article buffer.
14285 Turn on highlighting in all buffers.
14287 Create menus in the group buffer.
14289 Create menus in the summary buffers.
14291 Create menus in the article buffer.
14293 Create menus in the browse buffer.
14295 Create menus in the server buffer.
14297 Create menus in the score buffers.
14299 Create menus in all buffers.
14302 So if you only want highlighting in the article buffer and menus in all
14303 buffers, you could say something like:
14306 (setq gnus-visual '(article-highlight menu))
14309 If you want highlighting only and no menus whatsoever, you'd say:
14312 (setq gnus-visual '(highlight))
14315 If @code{gnus-visual} is @code{t}, highlighting and menus will be used
14316 in all Gnus buffers.
14318 Other general variables that influence the look of all buffers include:
14321 @item gnus-mouse-face
14322 @vindex gnus-mouse-face
14323 This is the face (i.e., font) used for mouse highlighting in Gnus. No
14324 mouse highlights will be done if @code{gnus-visual} is @code{nil}.
14328 There are hooks associated with the creation of all the different menus:
14332 @item gnus-article-menu-hook
14333 @vindex gnus-article-menu-hook
14334 Hook called after creating the article mode menu.
14336 @item gnus-group-menu-hook
14337 @vindex gnus-group-menu-hook
14338 Hook called after creating the group mode menu.
14340 @item gnus-summary-menu-hook
14341 @vindex gnus-summary-menu-hook
14342 Hook called after creating the summary mode menu.
14344 @item gnus-server-menu-hook
14345 @vindex gnus-server-menu-hook
14346 Hook called after creating the server mode menu.
14348 @item gnus-browse-menu-hook
14349 @vindex gnus-browse-menu-hook
14350 Hook called after creating the browse mode menu.
14352 @item gnus-score-menu-hook
14353 @vindex gnus-score-menu-hook
14354 Hook called after creating the score mode menu.
14365 Those new-fangled @dfn{mouse} contraptions is very popular with the
14366 young, hep kids who don't want to learn the proper way to do things
14367 these days. Why, I remember way back in the summer of '89, when I was
14368 using Emacs on a Tops 20 system. Three hundred users on one single
14369 machine, and every user was running Simula compilers. Bah!
14373 @vindex gnus-carpal
14374 Well, you can make Gnus display bufferfuls of buttons you can click to
14375 do anything by setting @code{gnus-carpal} to @code{t}. Pretty simple,
14376 really. Tell the chiropractor I sent you.
14381 @item gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14382 @vindex gnus-carpal-mode-hook
14383 Hook run in all carpal mode buffers.
14385 @item gnus-carpal-button-face
14386 @vindex gnus-carpal-button-face
14387 Face used on buttons.
14389 @item gnus-carpal-header-face
14390 @vindex gnus-carpal-header-face
14391 Face used on carpal buffer headers.
14393 @item gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14394 @vindex gnus-carpal-group-buffer-buttons
14395 Buttons in the group buffer.
14397 @item gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14398 @vindex gnus-carpal-summary-buffer-buttons
14399 Buttons in the summary buffer.
14401 @item gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14402 @vindex gnus-carpal-server-buffer-buttons
14403 Buttons in the server buffer.
14405 @item gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14406 @vindex gnus-carpal-browse-buffer-buttons
14407 Buttons in the browse buffer.
14410 All the @code{buttons} variables are lists. The elements in these list
14411 are either cons cells where the @code{car} contains a text to be displayed and
14412 the @code{cdr} contains a function symbol, or a simple string.
14420 Gnus, being larger than any program ever written (allegedly), does lots
14421 of strange stuff that you may wish to have done while you're not
14422 present. For instance, you may want it to check for new mail once in a
14423 while. Or you may want it to close down all connections to all servers
14424 when you leave Emacs idle. And stuff like that.
14426 Gnus will let you do stuff like that by defining various
14427 @dfn{handlers}. Each handler consists of three elements: A
14428 @var{function}, a @var{time}, and an @var{idle} parameter.
14430 Here's an example of a handler that closes connections when Emacs has
14431 been idle for thirty minutes:
14434 (gnus-demon-close-connections nil 30)
14437 Here's a handler that scans for PGP headers every hour when Emacs is
14441 (gnus-demon-scan-pgp 60 t)
14444 This @var{time} parameter and than @var{idle} parameter work together
14445 in a strange, but wonderful fashion. Basically, if @var{idle} is
14446 @code{nil}, then the function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14448 If @var{idle} is @code{t}, then the function will be called after
14449 @var{time} minutes only if Emacs is idle. So if Emacs is never idle,
14450 the function will never be called. But once Emacs goes idle, the
14451 function will be called every @var{time} minutes.
14453 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is a number, the function will
14454 be called every @var{time} minutes only when Emacs has been idle for
14455 @var{idle} minutes.
14457 If @var{idle} is a number and @var{time} is @code{nil}, the function
14458 will be called once every time Emacs has been idle for @var{idle}
14461 And if @var{time} is a string, it should look like @samp{07:31}, and
14462 the function will then be called once every day somewhere near that
14463 time. Modified by the @var{idle} parameter, of course.
14465 @vindex gnus-demon-timestep
14466 (When I say ``minute'' here, I really mean @code{gnus-demon-timestep}
14467 seconds. This is 60 by default. If you change that variable,
14468 all the timings in the handlers will be affected.)
14470 @vindex gnus-use-demon
14471 To set the whole thing in motion, though, you have to set
14472 @code{gnus-use-demon} to @code{t}.
14474 So, if you want to add a handler, you could put something like this in
14475 your @file{.gnus} file:
14477 @findex gnus-demon-add-handler
14479 (gnus-demon-add-handler 'gnus-demon-close-connections 30 t)
14482 @findex gnus-demon-add-nocem
14483 @findex gnus-demon-add-scanmail
14484 @findex gnus-demon-add-rescan
14485 @findex gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps
14486 @findex gnus-demon-add-disconnection
14487 Some ready-made functions to do this have been created:
14488 @code{gnus-demon-add-nocem}, @code{gnus-demon-add-disconnection},
14489 @code{gnus-demon-add-nntp-close-connection},
14490 @code{gnus-demon-add-scan-timestamps}, @code{gnus-demon-add-rescan}, and
14491 @code{gnus-demon-add-scanmail}. Just put those functions in your
14492 @file{.gnus} if you want those abilities.
14494 @findex gnus-demon-init
14495 @findex gnus-demon-cancel
14496 @vindex gnus-demon-handlers
14497 If you add handlers to @code{gnus-demon-handlers} directly, you should
14498 run @code{gnus-demon-init} to make the changes take hold. To cancel all
14499 daemons, you can use the @code{gnus-demon-cancel} function.
14501 Note that adding daemons can be pretty naughty if you over do it. Adding
14502 functions that scan all news and mail from all servers every two seconds
14503 is a sure-fire way of getting booted off any respectable system. So
14512 @dfn{Spamming} is posting the same article lots and lots of times.
14513 Spamming is bad. Spamming is evil.
14515 Spamming is usually canceled within a day or so by various anti-spamming
14516 agencies. These agencies usually also send out @dfn{NoCeM} messages.
14517 NoCeM is pronounced ``no see-'em'', and means what the name
14518 implies---these are messages that make the offending articles, like, go
14521 What use are these NoCeM messages if the articles are canceled anyway?
14522 Some sites do not honor cancel messages and some sites just honor cancels
14523 from a select few people. Then you may wish to make use of the NoCeM
14524 messages, which are distributed in the @samp{alt.nocem.misc} newsgroup.
14526 Gnus can read and parse the messages in this group automatically, and
14527 this will make spam disappear.
14529 There are some variables to customize, of course:
14532 @item gnus-use-nocem
14533 @vindex gnus-use-nocem
14534 Set this variable to @code{t} to set the ball rolling. It is @code{nil}
14537 @item gnus-nocem-groups
14538 @vindex gnus-nocem-groups
14539 Gnus will look for NoCeM messages in the groups in this list. The
14540 default is @code{("news.lists.filters" "news.admin.net-abuse.bulletins"
14541 "alt.nocem.misc" "news.admin.net-abuse.announce")}.
14543 @item gnus-nocem-issuers
14544 @vindex gnus-nocem-issuers
14545 There are many people issuing NoCeM messages. This list says what
14546 people you want to listen to. The default is @code{("Automoose-1"
14547 "rbraver@@ohww.norman.ok.us" "clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca"
14548 "jem@@xpat.com" "snowhare@@xmission.com" "red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us
14549 (Richard E. Depew)")}; fine, upstanding citizens all of them.
14551 Known despammers that you can put in this list include:
14554 @item clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca;
14555 @cindex Chris Lewis
14556 Chris Lewis---Major Canadian despammer who has probably canceled more
14557 usenet abuse than anybody else.
14560 @cindex CancelMoose[tm]
14561 The CancelMoose[tm] on autopilot. The CancelMoose[tm] is reputed to be
14562 Norwegian, and was the person(s) who invented NoCeM.
14564 @item jem@@xpat.com;
14566 John Milburn---despammer located in Korea who is getting very busy these
14569 @item red@@redpoll.mrfs.oh.us (Richard E. Depew)
14570 Richard E. Depew---lone American despammer. He mostly cancels binary
14571 postings to non-binary groups and removes spews (regurgitated articles).
14574 You do not have to heed NoCeM messages from all these people---just the
14575 ones you want to listen to. You also don't have to accept all NoCeM
14576 messages from the people you like. Each NoCeM message has a @dfn{type}
14577 header that gives the message a (more or less, usually less) rigorous
14578 definition. Common types are @samp{spam}, @samp{spew}, @samp{mmf},
14579 @samp{binary}, and @samp{troll}. To specify this, you have to use
14580 @var{(issuer conditions ...)} elements in the list. Each condition is
14581 either a string (which is a regexp that matches types you want to use)
14582 or a list on the form @code{(not STRING)}, where @var{string} is a
14583 regexp that matches types you don't want to use.
14585 For instance, if you want all NoCeM messages from Chris Lewis except his
14586 @samp{troll} messages, you'd say:
14589 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" ".*" (not "troll"))
14592 On the other hand, if you just want nothing but his @samp{spam} and
14593 @samp{spew} messages, you'd say:
14596 ("clewis@@ferret.ocunix.on.ca" (not ".*") "spew" "spam")
14599 The specs are applied left-to-right.
14602 @item gnus-nocem-verifyer
14603 @vindex gnus-nocem-verifyer
14605 This should be a function for verifying that the NoCeM issuer is who she
14606 says she is. The default is @code{mc-verify}, which is a Mailcrypt
14607 function. If this is too slow and you don't care for verification
14608 (which may be dangerous), you can set this variable to @code{nil}.
14610 If you want signed NoCeM messages to be verified and unsigned messages
14611 not to be verified (but used anyway), you could do something like:
14614 (setq gnus-nocem-verifyer 'my-gnus-mc-verify)
14616 (defun my-gnus-mc-verify ()
14624 This might be dangerous, though.
14626 @item gnus-nocem-directory
14627 @vindex gnus-nocem-directory
14628 This is where Gnus will store its NoCeM cache files. The default is
14629 @file{~/News/NoCeM/}.
14631 @item gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14632 @vindex gnus-nocem-expiry-wait
14633 The number of days before removing old NoCeM entries from the cache.
14634 The default is 15. If you make it shorter Gnus will be faster, but you
14635 might then see old spam.
14639 Using NoCeM could potentially be a memory hog. If you have many living
14640 (i. e., subscribed or unsubscribed groups), your Emacs process will grow
14641 big. If this is a problem, you should kill off all (or most) of your
14642 unsubscribed groups (@pxref{Subscription Commands}).
14649 It is very useful to be able to undo actions one has done. In normal
14650 Emacs buffers, it's easy enough---you just push the @code{undo} button.
14651 In Gnus buffers, however, it isn't that simple.
14653 The things Gnus displays in its buffer is of no value whatsoever to
14654 Gnus---it's all just data designed to look nice to the user.
14655 Killing a group in the group buffer with @kbd{C-k} makes the line
14656 disappear, but that's just a side-effect of the real action---the
14657 removal of the group in question from the internal Gnus structures.
14658 Undoing something like that can't be done by the normal Emacs
14659 @code{undo} function.
14661 Gnus tries to remedy this somewhat by keeping track of what the user
14662 does and coming up with actions that would reverse the actions the user
14663 takes. When the user then presses the @code{undo} key, Gnus will run
14664 the code to reverse the previous action, or the previous actions.
14665 However, not all actions are easily reversible, so Gnus currently offers
14666 a few key functions to be undoable. These include killing groups,
14667 yanking groups, and changing the list of read articles of groups.
14668 That's it, really. More functions may be added in the future, but each
14669 added function means an increase in data to be stored, so Gnus will
14670 never be totally undoable.
14672 @findex gnus-undo-mode
14673 @vindex gnus-use-undo
14675 The undoability is provided by the @code{gnus-undo-mode} minor mode. It
14676 is used if @code{gnus-use-undo} is non-@code{nil}, which is the
14677 default. The @kbd{M-C-_} key performs the @code{gnus-undo} command
14678 command, which should feel kinda like the normal Emacs @code{undo}
14683 @section Moderation
14686 If you are a moderator, you can use the @file{gnus-mdrtn.el} package.
14687 It is not included in the standard Gnus package. Write a mail to
14688 @samp{larsi@@gnus.org} and state what group you moderate, and you'll
14691 The moderation package is implemented as a minor mode for summary
14695 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-moderate)
14698 in your @file{.gnus.el} file.
14700 If you are the moderator of @samp{rec.zoofle}, this is how it's
14705 You split your incoming mail by matching on
14706 @samp{Newsgroups:.*rec.zoofle}, which will put all the to-be-posted
14707 articles in some mail group---for instance, @samp{nnml:rec.zoofle}.
14710 You enter that group once in a while and post articles using the @kbd{e}
14711 (edit-and-post) or @kbd{s} (just send unedited) commands.
14714 If, while reading the @samp{rec.zoofle} newsgroup, you happen upon some
14715 articles that weren't approved by you, you can cancel them with the
14719 To use moderation mode in these two groups, say:
14722 (setq gnus-moderated-list
14723 "^nnml:rec.zoofle$\\|^rec.zoofle$")
14727 @node XEmacs Enhancements
14728 @section XEmacs Enhancements
14731 XEmacs is able to display pictures and stuff, so Gnus has taken
14735 * Picons:: How to display pictures of what your reading.
14736 * Smileys:: Show all those happy faces the way they were meant to be shown.
14737 * Toolbar:: Click'n'drool.
14738 * XVarious:: Other XEmacsy Gnusey variables.
14751 So... You want to slow down your news reader even more! This is a
14752 good way to do so. Its also a great way to impress people staring
14753 over your shoulder as you read news.
14756 * Picon Basics:: What are picons and How do I get them.
14757 * Picon Requirements:: Don't go further if you aren't using XEmacs.
14758 * Easy Picons:: Displaying Picons---the easy way.
14759 * Hard Picons:: The way you should do it. You'll learn something.
14760 * Picon Useless Configuration:: Other variables you can trash/tweak/munge/play with.
14765 @subsubsection Picon Basics
14767 What are Picons? To quote directly from the Picons Web site:
14776 @dfn{Picons} is short for ``personal icons''. They're small,
14777 constrained images used to represent users and domains on the net,
14778 organized into databases so that the appropriate image for a given
14779 e-mail address can be found. Besides users and domains, there are picon
14780 databases for Usenet newsgroups and weather forecasts. The picons are
14781 in either monochrome @code{XBM} format or color @code{XPM} and
14782 @code{GIF} formats.
14785 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14786 If you have a permanent connection to the Internet you can use Steve
14787 Kinzler's Picons Search engine by setting
14788 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} to the string
14789 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/search.html}.
14791 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14792 Otherwise you need a local copy of his database. For instructions on
14793 obtaining and installing the picons databases, point your Web browser at
14794 @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu/picons/ftp/index.html}. Gnus expects
14795 picons to be installed into a location pointed to by
14796 @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14799 @node Picon Requirements
14800 @subsubsection Picon Requirements
14802 To have Gnus display Picons for you, you must be running XEmacs
14803 19.13 or greater since all other versions of Emacs aren't yet able to
14806 Additionally, you must have @code{x} support compiled into XEmacs. To
14807 display color picons which are much nicer than the black & white one,
14808 you also need one of @code{xpm} or @code{gif} compiled into XEmacs.
14810 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14811 If you want to display faces from @code{X-Face} headers, you should have
14812 the @code{xface} support compiled into XEmacs. Otherwise you must have
14813 the @code{netpbm} utilities installed, or munge the
14814 @code{gnus-picons-convert-x-face} variable to use something else.
14818 @subsubsection Easy Picons
14820 To enable displaying picons, simply put the following line in your
14821 @file{~/.gnus} file and start Gnus.
14824 (setq gnus-use-picons t)
14825 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14826 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-picons-article-display-x-face)
14829 and make sure @code{gnus-picons-database} points to the directory
14830 containing the Picons databases.
14832 Alternatively if you want to use the web piconsearch engine add this:
14835 (setq gnus-picons-piconsearch-url "http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch")
14840 @subsubsection Hard Picons
14848 Gnus can display picons for you as you enter and leave groups and
14849 articles. It knows how to interact with three sections of the picons
14850 database. Namely, it can display the picons newsgroup pictures,
14851 author's face picture(s), and the authors domain. To enable this
14852 feature, you need to select where to get the picons from, and where to
14857 @item gnus-picons-database
14858 @vindex gnus-picons-database
14859 The location of the picons database. Should point to a directory
14860 containing the @file{news}, @file{domains}, @file{users} (and so on)
14861 subdirectories. This is only useful if
14862 @code{gnus-picons-piconsearch-url} is @code{nil}. Defaults to
14863 @file{/usr/local/faces/}.
14865 @item gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14866 @vindex gnus-picons-piconsearch-url
14867 The URL for the web picons search engine. The only currently known
14868 engine is @file{http://www.cs.indiana.edu:800/piconsearch}. To
14869 workaround network delays, icons will be fetched in the background. If
14870 this is @code{nil} 'the default), then picons are fetched from local
14871 database indicated by @code{gnus-picons-database}.
14873 @item gnus-picons-display-where
14874 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14875 Where the picon images should be displayed. It is @code{picons} by
14876 default (which by default maps to the buffer @samp{*Picons*}). Other
14877 valid places could be @code{article}, @code{summary}, or
14878 @samp{*scratch*} for all I care. Just make sure that you've made the
14879 buffer visible using the standard Gnus window configuration
14880 routines---@pxref{Windows Configuration}.
14882 @item gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14883 @vindex gnus-picons-group-excluded-groups
14884 Groups that are matched by this regexp won't have their group icons
14889 Note: If you set @code{gnus-use-picons} to @code{t}, it will set up your
14890 window configuration for you to include the @code{picons} buffer.
14892 Now that you've made those decision, you need to add the following
14893 functions to the appropriate hooks so these pictures will get displayed
14896 @vindex gnus-article-display-hook
14897 @vindex gnus-picons-display-where
14899 @item gnus-article-display-picons
14900 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14901 Looks up and displays the picons for the author and the author's domain
14902 in the @code{gnus-picons-display-where} buffer. Should be added to the
14903 @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14905 @item gnus-picons-article-display-x-face
14906 @findex gnus-article-display-picons
14907 Decodes and displays the X-Face header if present. This function
14908 should be added to @code{gnus-article-display-hook}.
14912 Note: You must append them to the hook, so make sure to specify 't'
14913 for the append flag of @code{add-hook}:
14916 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-display-picons t)
14920 @node Picon Useless Configuration
14921 @subsubsection Picon Useless Configuration
14929 The following variables offer further control over how things are
14930 done, where things are located, and other useless stuff you really
14931 don't need to worry about.
14935 @item gnus-picons-news-directories
14936 @vindex gnus-picons-news-directories
14937 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14938 newsgroups faces. @code{("news")} is the default.
14940 @item gnus-picons-user-directories
14941 @vindex gnus-picons-user-directories
14942 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for user
14943 faces. @code{("local" "users" "usenix" "misc")} is the default.
14945 @item gnus-picons-domain-directories
14946 @vindex gnus-picons-domain-directories
14947 List of subdirectories to search in @code{gnus-picons-database} for
14948 domain name faces. Defaults to @code{("domains")}. Some people may
14949 want to add @samp{"unknown"} to this list.
14951 @item gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14952 @vindex gnus-picons-convert-x-face
14953 If you don't have @code{xface} support builtin XEmacs, this is the
14954 command to use to convert the @code{X-Face} header to an X bitmap
14955 (@code{xbm}). Defaults to @code{(format "@{ echo '/* Width=48,
14956 Height=48 */'; uncompface; @} | icontopbm | pbmtoxbm > %s"
14957 gnus-picons-x-face-file-name)}
14959 @item gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14960 @vindex gnus-picons-x-face-file-name
14961 Names a temporary file to store the @code{X-Face} bitmap in. Defaults
14962 to @code{(format "/tmp/picon-xface.%s.xbm" (user-login-name))}.
14964 @item gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14965 @vindex gnus-picons-has-modeline-p
14966 If you have set @code{gnus-picons-display-where} to @code{picons}, your
14967 XEmacs frame will become really cluttered. To alleviate this a bit you
14968 can set @code{gnus-picons-has-modeline-p} to @code{nil}; this will
14969 remove the mode line from the Picons buffer. This is only useful if
14970 @code{gnus-picons-display-where} is @code{picons}.
14972 @item gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14973 @vindex gnus-picons-refresh-before-display
14974 If non-nil, display the article buffer before computing the picons.
14975 Defaults to @code{nil}.
14977 @item gnus-picons-display-as-address
14978 @vindex gnus-picons-display-as-address
14979 If @code{t} display textual email addresses along with pictures.
14980 Defaults to @code{t}.
14982 @item gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14983 @vindex gnus-picons-file-suffixes
14984 Ordered list of suffixes on picon file names to try. Defaults to
14985 @code{("xpm" "gif" "xbm")} minus those not builtin your XEmacs.
14987 @item gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14988 @vindex gnus-picons-display-article-move-p
14989 Whether to move point to first empty line when displaying picons. This
14990 has only an effect if `gnus-picons-display-where' has value `article'.
14992 @item gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14993 @vindex gnus-picons-clear-cache-on-shutdown
14994 Whether to clear the picons cache when exiting gnus. Gnus caches every
14995 picons it finds while it is running. This saves some time in the search
14996 process but eats some memory. If this variable is set to @code{nil},
14997 Gnus will never clear the cache itself; you will have to manually call
14998 @code{gnus-picons-clear-cache} to clear it. Otherwise the cache will be
14999 cleared every time you exit Gnus. Defaults to @code{t}.
15010 @subsection Smileys
15015 \gnusfig{-3cm}{0.5cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/BigFace.ps,height=20cm}}
15020 @dfn{Smiley} is a package separate from Gnus, but since Gnus is
15021 currently the only package that uses Smiley, it is documented here.
15023 In short---to use Smiley in Gnus, put the following in your
15024 @file{.gnus.el} file:
15027 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-smiley-display t)
15030 Smiley maps text smiley faces---@samp{:-)}, @samp{:-=}, @samp{:-(} and
15031 the like---to pictures and displays those instead of the text smiley
15032 faces. The conversion is controlled by a list of regexps that matches
15033 text and maps that to file names.
15035 @vindex smiley-nosey-regexp-alist
15036 @vindex smiley-deformed-regexp-alist
15037 Smiley supplies two example conversion alists by default:
15038 @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist} (which matches @samp{:)}, @samp{:(}
15039 and so on), and @code{smiley-nosey-regexp-alist} (which matches
15040 @samp{:-)}, @samp{:-(} and so on).
15042 The alist used is specified by the @code{smiley-regexp-alist} variable,
15043 which defaults to the value of @code{smiley-deformed-regexp-alist}.
15045 The first item in each element is the regexp to be matched; the second
15046 element is the regexp match group that is to be replaced by the picture;
15047 and the third element is the name of the file to be displayed.
15049 The following variables customize where Smiley will look for these
15050 files, as well as the color to be used and stuff:
15054 @item smiley-data-directory
15055 @vindex smiley-data-directory
15056 Where Smiley will look for smiley faces files.
15058 @item smiley-flesh-color
15059 @vindex smiley-flesh-color
15060 Skin color. The default is @samp{yellow}, which is really racist.
15062 @item smiley-features-color
15063 @vindex smiley-features-color
15064 Color of the features of the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15066 @item smiley-tongue-color
15067 @vindex smiley-tongue-color
15068 Color of the tongue. The default is @samp{red}.
15070 @item smiley-circle-color
15071 @vindex smiley-circle-color
15072 Color of the circle around the face. The default is @samp{black}.
15074 @item smiley-mouse-face
15075 @vindex smiley-mouse-face
15076 Face used for mouse highlighting over the smiley face.
15082 @subsection Toolbar
15092 @item gnus-use-toolbar
15093 @vindex gnus-use-toolbar
15094 If @code{nil}, don't display toolbars. If non-@code{nil}, it should be
15095 one of @code{default-toolbar}, @code{top-toolbar}, @code{bottom-toolbar},
15096 @code{right-toolbar}, or @code{left-toolbar}.
15098 @item gnus-group-toolbar
15099 @vindex gnus-group-toolbar
15100 The toolbar in the group buffer.
15102 @item gnus-summary-toolbar
15103 @vindex gnus-summary-toolbar
15104 The toolbar in the summary buffer.
15106 @item gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15107 @vindex gnus-summary-mail-toolbar
15108 The toolbar in the summary buffer of mail groups.
15114 @subsection Various XEmacs Variables
15117 @item gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15118 @vindex gnus-xmas-glyph-directory
15119 This is where Gnus will look for pictures. Gnus will normally
15120 auto-detect this directory, but you may set it manually if you have an
15121 unusual directory structure.
15123 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15124 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-alist
15125 This is an alist where the key is a type symbol and the values are the
15126 foreground and background color of the splash page glyph.
15128 @item gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15129 @vindex gnus-xmas-logo-color-style
15130 This is the key used to look up the color in the alist described above.
15131 Valid values include @code{flame}, @code{pine}, @code{moss},
15132 @code{irish}, @code{sky}, @code{tin}, @code{velvet}, @code{grape},
15133 @code{labia}, @code{berry}, @code{neutral}, and @code{september}.
15135 @item gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15136 @vindex gnus-xmas-modeline-glyph
15137 A glyph displayed in all Gnus mode lines. It is a tiny gnu head by
15151 @node Fuzzy Matching
15152 @section Fuzzy Matching
15153 @cindex fuzzy matching
15155 Gnus provides @dfn{fuzzy matching} of @code{Subject} lines when doing
15156 things like scoring, thread gathering and thread comparison.
15158 As opposed to regular expression matching, fuzzy matching is very fuzzy.
15159 It's so fuzzy that there's not even a definition of what @dfn{fuzziness}
15160 means, and the implementation has changed over time.
15162 Basically, it tries to remove all noise from lines before comparing.
15163 @samp{Re: }, parenthetical remarks, white space, and so on, are filtered
15164 out of the strings before comparing the results. This often leads to
15165 adequate results---even when faced with strings generated by text
15166 manglers masquerading as newsreaders.
15169 @node Thwarting Email Spam
15170 @section Thwarting Email Spam
15174 @cindex unsolicited commercial email
15176 In these last days of the Usenet, commercial vultures are hanging about
15177 and grepping through news like crazy to find email addresses they can
15178 foist off their scams and products to. As a reaction to this, many
15179 people have started putting nonsense addresses into their @code{From}
15180 lines. I think this is counterproductive---it makes it difficult for
15181 people to send you legitimate mail in response to things you write, as
15182 well as making it difficult to see who wrote what. This rewriting may
15183 perhaps be a bigger menace than the unsolicited commercial email itself
15186 The biggest problem I have with email spam is that it comes in under
15187 false pretenses. I press @kbd{g} and Gnus merrily informs me that I
15188 have 10 new emails. I say ``Golly gee! Happy is me!'' and select the
15189 mail group, only to find two pyramid schemes, seven advertisements
15190 (``New! Miracle tonic for growing full, lustrous hair on your toes!'')
15191 and one mail asking me to repent and find some god.
15195 The way to deal with this is having Gnus split out all spam into a
15196 @samp{spam} mail group (@pxref{Splitting Mail}).
15198 First, pick one (1) valid mail address that you can be reached at, and
15199 put it in your @code{From} header of all your news articles. (I've
15200 chosen @samp{larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no}, but for many addresses on the form
15201 @samp{larsi+usenet@@ifi.uio.no} will be a better choice. Ask your
15202 sysadm whether your sendmail installation accepts keywords in the local
15203 part of the mail address.)
15206 (setq message-default-news-headers
15207 "From: Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen <larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no>\n")
15210 Then put the following split rule in @code{nnmail-split-fancy}
15211 (@pxref{Fancy Mail Splitting}):
15216 (to "larsi@@trym.ifi.uio.no"
15217 (| ("subject" "re:.*" "misc")
15218 ("references" ".*@@.*" "misc")
15224 This says that all mail to this address is suspect, but if it has a
15225 @code{Subject} that starts with a @samp{Re:} or has a @code{References}
15226 header, it's probably ok. All the rest goes to the @samp{spam} group.
15227 (This idea probably comes from Tim Pierce.)
15229 In addition, many mail spammers talk directly to your @code{smtp} server
15230 and do not include your email address explicitly in the @code{To}
15231 header. Why they do this is unknown---perhaps it's to thwart this
15232 thwarting scheme? In any case, this is trivial to deal with---you just
15233 put anything not addressed to you in the @samp{spam} group by ending
15234 your fancy split rule in this way:
15239 (to "larsi" "misc")
15243 In my experience, this will sort virtually everything into the right
15244 group. You still have to check the @samp{spam} group from time to time to
15245 check for legitimate mail, though. If you feel like being a good net
15246 citizen, you can even send off complaints to the proper authorities on
15247 each unsolicited commercial email---at your leisure.
15249 If you are also a lazy net citizen, you will probably prefer complaining
15250 automatically with the @file{gnus-junk.el} package, available FOR FREE
15251 at @file{<URL:http://stud2.tuwien.ac.at/~e9426626/gnus-junk.html>}.
15252 Since most e-mail spam is sent automatically, this may reconcile the
15253 cosmic balance somewhat.
15255 This works for me. It allows people an easy way to contact me (they can
15256 just press @kbd{r} in the usual way), and I'm not bothered at all with
15257 spam. It's a win-win situation. Forging @code{From} headers to point
15258 to non-existent domains is yucky, in my opinion.
15261 @node Various Various
15262 @section Various Various
15268 @item gnus-home-directory
15269 All Gnus path variables will be initialized from this variable, which
15270 defaults to @file{~/}.
15272 @item gnus-directory
15273 @vindex gnus-directory
15274 Most Gnus storage path variables will be initialized from this variable,
15275 which defaults to the @samp{SAVEDIR} environment variable, or
15276 @file{~/News/} if that variable isn't set.
15278 Note that gnus is mostly loaded when the @file{.gnus.el} file is read.
15279 This means that other directory variables that are initialized from this
15280 variable won't be set properly if you set this variable in
15281 @file{.gnus.el}. Set this variable in @file{.emacs} instead.
15283 @item gnus-default-directory
15284 @vindex gnus-default-directory
15285 Not related to the above variable at all---this variable says what the
15286 default directory of all Gnus buffers should be. If you issue commands
15287 like @kbd{C-x C-f}, the prompt you'll get starts in the current buffer's
15288 default directory. If this variable is @code{nil} (which is the
15289 default), the default directory will be the default directory of the
15290 buffer you were in when you started Gnus.
15293 @vindex gnus-verbose
15294 This variable is an integer between zero and ten. The higher the value,
15295 the more messages will be displayed. If this variable is zero, Gnus
15296 will never flash any messages, if it is seven (which is the default),
15297 most important messages will be shown, and if it is ten, Gnus won't ever
15298 shut up, but will flash so many messages it will make your head swim.
15300 @item gnus-verbose-backends
15301 @vindex gnus-verbose-backends
15302 This variable works the same way as @code{gnus-verbose}, but it applies
15303 to the Gnus backends instead of Gnus proper.
15305 @item nnheader-max-head-length
15306 @vindex nnheader-max-head-length
15307 When the backends read straight heads of articles, they all try to read
15308 as little as possible. This variable (default 4096) specifies
15309 the absolute max length the backends will try to read before giving up
15310 on finding a separator line between the head and the body. If this
15311 variable is @code{nil}, there is no upper read bound. If it is
15312 @code{t}, the backends won't try to read the articles piece by piece,
15313 but read the entire articles. This makes sense with some versions of
15314 @code{ange-ftp} or @code{efs}.
15316 @item nnheader-head-chop-length
15317 @vindex nnheader-head-chop-length
15318 This variable (default 2048) says how big a piece of each article to
15319 read when doing the operation described above.
15321 @item nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15322 @vindex nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15324 @cindex invalid characters in file names
15325 @cindex characters in file names
15326 This is an alist that says how to translate characters in file names.
15327 For instance, if @samp{:} is invalid as a file character in file names
15328 on your system (you OS/2 user you), you could say something like:
15331 (setq nnheader-file-name-translation-alist
15335 In fact, this is the default value for this variable on OS/2 and MS
15336 Windows (phooey) systems.
15338 @item gnus-hidden-properties
15339 @vindex gnus-hidden-properties
15340 This is a list of properties to use to hide ``invisible'' text. It is
15341 @code{(invisible t intangible t)} by default on most systems, which
15342 makes invisible text invisible and intangible.
15344 @item gnus-parse-headers-hook
15345 @vindex gnus-parse-headers-hook
15346 A hook called before parsing headers. It can be used, for instance, to
15347 gather statistics on the headers fetched, or perhaps you'd like to prune
15348 some headers. I don't see why you'd want that, though.
15350 @item gnus-shell-command-separator
15351 @vindex gnus-shell-command-separator
15352 String used to separate two shell commands. The default is @samp{;}.
15361 Well, that's the manual---you can get on with your life now. Keep in
15362 touch. Say hello to your cats from me.
15364 My @strong{ghod}---I just can't stand goodbyes. Sniffle.
15366 Ol' Charles Reznikoff said it pretty well, so I leave the floor to him:
15372 Not because of victories @*
15375 but for the common sunshine,@*
15377 the largess of the spring.
15381 but for the day's work done@*
15382 as well as I was able;@*
15383 not for a seat upon the dais@*
15384 but at the common table.@*
15389 @chapter Appendices
15392 * History:: How Gnus got where it is today.
15393 * Terminology:: We use really difficult, like, words here.
15394 * Customization:: Tailoring Gnus to your needs.
15395 * Troubleshooting:: What you might try if things do not work.
15396 * A Programmers Guide to Gnus:: Rilly, rilly technical stuff.
15397 * Emacs for Heathens:: A short introduction to Emacsian terms.
15398 * Frequently Asked Questions:: A question-and-answer session.
15406 @sc{gnus} was written by Masanobu @sc{Umeda}. When autumn crept up in
15407 '94, Lars Magne Ingebrigtsen grew bored and decided to rewrite Gnus.
15409 If you want to investigate the person responsible for this outrage, you
15410 can point your (feh!) web browser to
15411 @file{http://www.stud.ifi.uio.no/~larsi/}. This is also the primary
15412 distribution point for the new and spiffy versions of Gnus, and is known
15413 as The Site That Destroys Newsrcs And Drives People Mad.
15415 During the first extended alpha period of development, the new Gnus was
15416 called ``(ding) Gnus''. @dfn{(ding)} is, of course, short for
15417 @dfn{ding is not Gnus}, which is a total and utter lie, but who cares?
15418 (Besides, the ``Gnus'' in this abbreviation should probably be
15419 pronounced ``news'' as @sc{Umeda} intended, which makes it a more
15420 appropriate name, don't you think?)
15422 In any case, after spending all that energy on coming up with a new and
15423 spunky name, we decided that the name was @emph{too} spunky, so we
15424 renamed it back again to ``Gnus''. But in mixed case. ``Gnus'' vs.
15425 ``@sc{gnus}''. New vs. old.
15427 The first ``proper'' release of Gnus 5 was done in November 1995 when it
15428 was included in the Emacs 19.30 distribution (132 (ding) Gnus releases
15429 plus 15 Gnus 5.0 releases).
15431 In May 1996 the next Gnus generation (aka. ``September Gnus'' (after 99
15432 releases)) was released under the name ``Gnus 5.2'' (40 releases).
15434 On July 28th 1996 work on Red Gnus was begun, and it was released on
15435 January 25th 1997 (after 84 releases) as ``Gnus 5.4'' (67 releases).
15437 On September 13th 1997, Quassia Gnus was started and lasted 37
15438 releases. If was released as ``Gnus 5.6.33' on March 8th 1998.
15440 If you happen upon a version of Gnus that has a prefixed name --
15441 ``(ding) Gnus'', ``September Gnus'', ``Red Gnus'', ``Quassia Gnus'' --
15442 don't panic. Don't let it know that you're frightened. Back away.
15443 Slowly. Whatever you do, don't run. Walk away, calmly, until you're
15444 out of its reach. Find a proper released version of Gnus and snuggle up
15448 * Why?:: What's the point of Gnus?
15449 * Compatibility:: Just how compatible is Gnus with @sc{gnus}?
15450 * Conformity:: Gnus tries to conform to all standards.
15451 * Emacsen:: Gnus can be run on a few modern Emacsen.
15452 * Contributors:: Oodles of people.
15453 * New Features:: Pointers to some of the new stuff in Gnus.
15454 * Newest Features:: Features so new that they haven't been written yet.
15461 What's the point of Gnus?
15463 I want to provide a ``rad'', ``happening'', ``way cool'' and ``hep''
15464 newsreader, that lets you do anything you can think of. That was my
15465 original motivation, but while working on Gnus, it has become clear to
15466 me that this generation of newsreaders really belong in the stone age.
15467 Newsreaders haven't developed much since the infancy of the net. If the
15468 volume continues to rise with the current rate of increase, all current
15469 newsreaders will be pretty much useless. How do you deal with
15470 newsgroups that have thousands of new articles each day? How do you
15471 keep track of millions of people who post?
15473 Gnus offers no real solutions to these questions, but I would very much
15474 like to see Gnus being used as a testing ground for new methods of
15475 reading and fetching news. Expanding on @sc{Umeda}-san's wise decision
15476 to separate the newsreader from the backends, Gnus now offers a simple
15477 interface for anybody who wants to write new backends for fetching mail
15478 and news from different sources. I have added hooks for customizations
15479 everywhere I could imagine it being useful. By doing so, I'm inviting
15480 every one of you to explore and invent.
15482 May Gnus never be complete. @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-emacs} and
15483 @kbd{C-u 100 M-x all-hail-xemacs}.
15486 @node Compatibility
15487 @subsection Compatibility
15489 @cindex compatibility
15490 Gnus was designed to be fully compatible with @sc{gnus}. Almost all key
15491 bindings have been kept. More key bindings have been added, of course,
15492 but only in one or two obscure cases have old bindings been changed.
15497 @center In a cloud bones of steel.
15501 All commands have kept their names. Some internal functions have changed
15504 The @code{gnus-uu} package has changed drastically. @xref{Decoding
15507 One major compatibility question is the presence of several summary
15508 buffers. All variables relevant while reading a group are
15509 buffer-local to the summary buffer they belong in. Although many
15510 important variables have their values copied into their global
15511 counterparts whenever a command is executed in the summary buffer, this
15512 change might lead to incorrect values being used unless you are careful.
15514 All code that relies on knowledge of @sc{gnus} internals will probably
15515 fail. To take two examples: Sorting @code{gnus-newsrc-alist} (or
15516 changing it in any way, as a matter of fact) is strictly verboten. Gnus
15517 maintains a hash table that points to the entries in this alist (which
15518 speeds up many functions), and changing the alist directly will lead to
15522 @cindex highlighting
15523 Old hilit19 code does not work at all. In fact, you should probably
15524 remove all hilit code from all Gnus hooks
15525 (@code{gnus-group-prepare-hook} and @code{gnus-summary-prepare-hook}).
15526 Gnus provides various integrated functions for highlighting. These are
15527 faster and more accurate. To make life easier for everybody, Gnus will
15528 by default remove all hilit calls from all hilit hooks. Uncleanliness!
15531 Packages like @code{expire-kill} will no longer work. As a matter of
15532 fact, you should probably remove all old @sc{gnus} packages (and other
15533 code) when you start using Gnus. More likely than not, Gnus already
15534 does what you have written code to make @sc{gnus} do. (Snicker.)
15536 Even though old methods of doing things are still supported, only the
15537 new methods are documented in this manual. If you detect a new method of
15538 doing something while reading this manual, that does not mean you have
15539 to stop doing it the old way.
15541 Gnus understands all @sc{gnus} startup files.
15543 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
15545 @cindex reporting bugs
15547 Overall, a casual user who hasn't written much code that depends on
15548 @sc{gnus} internals should suffer no problems. If problems occur,
15549 please let me know by issuing that magic command @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}.
15551 @vindex gnus-bug-create-help-buffer
15552 If you are in the habit of sending bug reports @emph{very} often, you
15553 may find the helpful help buffer annoying after a while. If so, set
15554 @code{gnus-bug-create-help-buffer} to @code{nil} to avoid having it pop
15559 @subsection Conformity
15561 No rebels without a clue here, ma'am. We conform to all standards known
15562 to (wo)man. Except for those standards and/or conventions we disagree
15569 There are no known breaches of this standard.
15573 There are no known breaches of this standard, either.
15575 @item Son-of-RFC 1036
15576 @cindex Son-of-RFC 1036
15577 We do have some breaches to this one.
15582 Gnus does no MIME handling, and this standard-to-be seems to think that
15583 MIME is the bees' knees, so we have major breakage here.
15586 This is considered to be a ``vanity header'', while I consider it to be
15587 consumer information. After seeing so many badly formatted articles
15588 coming from @code{tin} and @code{Netscape} I know not to use either of
15589 those for posting articles. I would not have known that if it wasn't
15590 for the @code{X-Newsreader} header.
15595 If you ever notice Gnus acting non-compliant with regards to the texts
15596 mentioned above, don't hesitate to drop a note to Gnus Towers and let us
15601 @subsection Emacsen
15607 Gnus should work on :
15612 Emacs 19.32 and up.
15615 XEmacs 19.14 and up.
15618 Mule versions based on Emacs 19.32 and up.
15622 Gnus will absolutely not work on any Emacsen older than that. Not
15623 reliably, at least.
15625 There are some vague differences between Gnus on the various
15626 platforms---XEmacs features more graphics (a logo and a toolbar)---but
15627 other than that, things should look pretty much the same under all
15632 @subsection Contributors
15633 @cindex contributors
15635 The new Gnus version couldn't have been done without the help of all the
15636 people on the (ding) mailing list. Every day for over a year I have
15637 gotten billions of nice bug reports from them, filling me with joy,
15638 every single one of them. Smooches. The people on the list have been
15639 tried beyond endurance, what with my ``oh, that's a neat idea <type
15640 type>, yup, I'll release it right away <ship off> no wait, that doesn't
15641 work at all <type type>, yup, I'll ship that one off right away <ship
15642 off> no, wait, that absolutely does not work'' policy for releases.
15643 Micro$oft---bah. Amateurs. I'm @emph{much} worse. (Or is that
15644 ``worser''? ``much worser''? ``worsest''?)
15646 I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Academy for... oops,
15652 Masanobu @sc{Umeda}---the writer of the original @sc{gnus}.
15655 Per Abrahamsen---custom, scoring, highlighting and @sc{soup} code (as
15656 well as numerous other things).
15659 Luis Fernandes---design and graphics.
15662 Erik Naggum---help, ideas, support, code and stuff.
15665 Wes Hardaker---@file{gnus-picon.el} and the manual section on
15666 @dfn{picons} (@pxref{Picons}).
15669 Kim-Minh Kaplan---further work on the picon code.
15672 Brad Miller---@file{gnus-gl.el} and the GroupLens manual section
15673 (@pxref{GroupLens}).
15676 Sudish Joseph---innumerable bug fixes.
15679 Ilja Weis---@file{gnus-topic.el}.
15682 Steven L. Baur---lots and lots and lots of bugs detections and fixes.
15685 Vladimir Alexiev---the refcard and reference booklets.
15688 Felix Lee & Jamie Zawinski---I stole some pieces from the XGnus
15689 distribution by Felix Lee and JWZ.
15692 Scott Byer---@file{nnfolder.el} enhancements & rewrite.
15695 Peter Mutsaers---orphan article scoring code.
15698 Ken Raeburn---POP mail support.
15701 Hallvard B Furuseth---various bits and pieces, especially dealing with
15705 Brian Edmonds---@file{gnus-bbdb.el}.
15708 David Moore---rewrite of @file{nnvirtual.el} and many other things.
15711 Kevin Davidson---came up with the name @dfn{ding}, so blame him.
15714 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Pinard---many, many interesting and thorough bug reports, as
15715 well as autoconf support.
15719 This manual was proof-read by Adrian Aichner, with Ricardo Nassif, Mark
15720 Borges, and Jost Krieger proof-reading parts of the manual.
15722 The following people have contributed many patches and suggestions:
15727 David K
\e,Ae
\e(Bgedal,
15731 Jason L. Tibbitts, III,
15735 Also thanks to the following for patches and stuff:
15757 Massimo Campostrini,
15765 Geoffrey T. Dairiki,
15771 Michael Welsh Duggan,
15774 Enami Tsugutomo, @c Enami
15778 Nelson Jose dos Santos Ferreira,
15784 Arne Georg Gleditsch,
15786 Michelangelo Grigni,
15789 Kenichi Handa, @c Handa
15791 Yoshiki Hayashi, @c ?
15793 Hisashige Kenji, @c Hisashige
15798 Fran
\e,Ag
\e(Bois Felix Ingrand,
15799 Ishikawa Ichiro, @c Ishikawa
15801 Iwamuro Motonori, @c Iwamuro
15809 Peter Skov Knudsen,
15810 Shuhei Kobayashi, @c Kobayashi
15811 Thor Kristoffersen,
15813 Seokchan Lee, @c Lee
15830 Morioka Tomohiko, @c Morioka
15831 Erik Toubro Nielsen,
15838 Masaharu Onishi, @c Onishi
15842 Jens-Ulrik Holger Petersen,
15844 John McClary Prevost,
15849 Lars Balker Rasmussen,
15854 Christian von Roques,
15856 Wolfgang Rupprecht,
15862 Philippe Schnoebelen,
15864 Randal L. Schwartz,
15892 Katsumi Yamaoka, @c Yamaoka
15894 Shenghuo Zhu. @c Zhu
15896 For a full overview of what each person has done, the ChangeLogs
15897 included in the Gnus alpha distributions should give ample reading
15898 (550kB and counting).
15900 Apologies to everybody that I've forgotten, of which there are many, I'm
15903 Gee, that's quite a list of people. I guess that must mean that there
15904 actually are people who are using Gnus. Who'd'a thunk it!
15908 @subsection New Features
15909 @cindex new features
15912 * ding Gnus:: New things in Gnus 5.0/5.1, the first new Gnus.
15913 * September Gnus:: The Thing Formally Known As Gnus 5.3/5.3.
15914 * Red Gnus:: Third time best---Gnus 5.4/5.5.
15915 * Quassia Gnus:: Two times two is four, or Gnus 5.6.33.
15918 These lists are, of course, just @emph{short} overviews of the
15919 @emph{most} important new features. No, really. There are tons more.
15920 Yes, we have feeping creaturism in full effect.
15924 @subsubsection (ding) Gnus
15926 New features in Gnus 5.0/5.1:
15931 The look of all buffers can be changed by setting format-like variables
15932 (@pxref{Group Buffer Format} and @pxref{Summary Buffer Format}).
15935 Local spool and several @sc{nntp} servers can be used at once
15936 (@pxref{Select Methods}).
15939 You can combine groups into virtual groups (@pxref{Virtual Groups}).
15942 You can read a number of different mail formats (@pxref{Getting Mail}).
15943 All the mail backends implement a convenient mail expiry scheme
15944 (@pxref{Expiring Mail}).
15947 Gnus can use various strategies for gathering threads that have lost
15948 their roots (thereby gathering loose sub-threads into one thread) or it
15949 can go back and retrieve enough headers to build a complete thread
15950 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
15953 Killed groups can be displayed in the group buffer, and you can read
15954 them as well (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15957 Gnus can do partial group updates---you do not have to retrieve the
15958 entire active file just to check for new articles in a few groups
15959 (@pxref{The Active File}).
15962 Gnus implements a sliding scale of subscribedness to groups
15963 (@pxref{Group Levels}).
15966 You can score articles according to any number of criteria
15967 (@pxref{Scoring}). You can even get Gnus to find out how to score
15968 articles for you (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
15971 Gnus maintains a dribble buffer that is auto-saved the normal Emacs
15972 manner, so it should be difficult to lose much data on what you have
15973 read if your machine should go down (@pxref{Auto Save}).
15976 Gnus now has its own startup file (@file{.gnus}) to avoid cluttering up
15977 the @file{.emacs} file.
15980 You can set the process mark on both groups and articles and perform
15981 operations on all the marked items (@pxref{Process/Prefix}).
15984 You can grep through a subset of groups and create a group from the
15985 results (@pxref{Kibozed Groups}).
15988 You can list subsets of groups according to, well, anything
15989 (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
15992 You can browse foreign servers and subscribe to groups from those
15993 servers (@pxref{Browse Foreign Server}).
15996 Gnus can fetch articles, asynchronously, on a second connection to the
15997 server (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16000 You can cache articles locally (@pxref{Article Caching}).
16003 The uudecode functions have been expanded and generalized
16004 (@pxref{Decoding Articles}).
16007 You can still post uuencoded articles, which was a little-known feature
16008 of @sc{gnus}' past (@pxref{Uuencoding and Posting}).
16011 Fetching parents (and other articles) now actually works without
16012 glitches (@pxref{Finding the Parent}).
16015 Gnus can fetch FAQs and group descriptions (@pxref{Group Information}).
16018 Digests (and other files) can be used as the basis for groups
16019 (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16022 Articles can be highlighted and customized (@pxref{Customizing
16026 URLs and other external references can be buttonized (@pxref{Article
16030 You can do lots of strange stuff with the Gnus window & frame
16031 configuration (@pxref{Windows Configuration}).
16034 You can click on buttons instead of using the keyboard
16040 @node September Gnus
16041 @subsubsection September Gnus
16045 \gnusfig{-28cm}{0cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/september.ps,height=20cm}}
16049 New features in Gnus 5.2/5.3:
16054 A new message composition mode is used. All old customization variables
16055 for @code{mail-mode}, @code{rnews-reply-mode} and @code{gnus-msg} are
16059 Gnus is now able to generate @dfn{sparse} threads---threads where
16060 missing articles are represented by empty nodes (@pxref{Customizing
16064 (setq gnus-build-sparse-threads 'some)
16068 Outgoing articles are stored on a special archive server
16069 (@pxref{Archived Messages}).
16072 Partial thread regeneration now happens when articles are
16076 Gnus can make use of GroupLens predictions (@pxref{GroupLens}).
16079 Picons (personal icons) can be displayed under XEmacs (@pxref{Picons}).
16082 A @code{trn}-like tree buffer can be displayed (@pxref{Tree Display}).
16085 (setq gnus-use-trees t)
16089 An @code{nn}-like pick-and-read minor mode is available for the summary
16090 buffers (@pxref{Pick and Read}).
16093 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-mode-hook 'gnus-pick-mode)
16097 In binary groups you can use a special binary minor mode (@pxref{Binary
16101 Groups can be grouped in a folding topic hierarchy (@pxref{Group
16105 (add-hook 'gnus-group-mode-hook 'gnus-topic-mode)
16109 Gnus can re-send and bounce mail (@pxref{Summary Mail Commands}).
16112 Groups can now have a score, and bubbling based on entry frequency
16113 is possible (@pxref{Group Score}).
16116 (add-hook 'gnus-summary-exit-hook 'gnus-summary-bubble-group)
16120 Groups can be process-marked, and commands can be performed on
16121 groups of groups (@pxref{Marking Groups}).
16124 Caching is possible in virtual groups.
16127 @code{nndoc} now understands all kinds of digests, mail boxes, rnews
16128 news batches, ClariNet briefs collections, and just about everything
16129 else (@pxref{Document Groups}).
16132 Gnus has a new backend (@code{nnsoup}) to create/read SOUP packets
16136 The Gnus cache is much faster.
16139 Groups can be sorted according to many criteria (@pxref{Sorting
16143 New group parameters have been introduced to set list-addresses and
16144 expiry times (@pxref{Group Parameters}).
16147 All formatting specs allow specifying faces to be used
16148 (@pxref{Formatting Fonts}).
16151 There are several more commands for setting/removing/acting on process
16152 marked articles on the @kbd{M P} submap (@pxref{Setting Process Marks}).
16155 The summary buffer can be limited to show parts of the available
16156 articles based on a wide range of criteria. These commands have been
16157 bound to keys on the @kbd{/} submap (@pxref{Limiting}).
16160 Articles can be made persistent with the @kbd{*} command
16161 (@pxref{Persistent Articles}).
16164 All functions for hiding article elements are now toggles.
16167 Article headers can be buttonized (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16170 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16171 'gnus-article-add-buttons-to-head)
16175 All mail backends support fetching articles by @code{Message-ID}.
16178 Duplicate mail can now be treated properly (@pxref{Duplicates}).
16181 All summary mode commands are available directly from the article
16182 buffer (@pxref{Article Keymap}).
16185 Frames can be part of @code{gnus-buffer-configuration} (@pxref{Windows
16189 Mail can be re-scanned by a daemonic process (@pxref{Daemons}).
16192 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fseptember.ps,height=5cm}}
16197 Gnus can make use of NoCeM files to weed out spam (@pxref{NoCeM}).
16200 (setq gnus-use-nocem t)
16204 Groups can be made permanently visible (@pxref{Listing Groups}).
16207 (setq gnus-permanently-visible-groups "^nnml:")
16211 Many new hooks have been introduced to make customizing easier.
16214 Gnus respects the @code{Mail-Copies-To} header.
16217 Threads can be gathered by looking at the @code{References} header
16218 (@pxref{Customizing Threading}).
16221 (setq gnus-summary-thread-gathering-function
16222 'gnus-gather-threads-by-references)
16226 Read articles can be stored in a special backlog buffer to avoid
16227 refetching (@pxref{Article Backlog}).
16230 (setq gnus-keep-backlog 50)
16234 A clean copy of the current article is always stored in a separate
16235 buffer to allow easier treatment.
16238 Gnus can suggest where to save articles (@pxref{Saving Articles}).
16241 Gnus doesn't have to do as much prompting when saving (@pxref{Saving
16245 (setq gnus-prompt-before-saving t)
16249 @code{gnus-uu} can view decoded files asynchronously while fetching
16250 articles (@pxref{Other Decode Variables}).
16253 (setq gnus-uu-grabbed-file-functions 'gnus-uu-grab-view)
16257 Filling in the article buffer now works properly on cited text
16258 (@pxref{Article Washing}).
16261 Hiding cited text adds buttons to toggle hiding, and how much
16262 cited text to hide is now customizable (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16265 (setq gnus-cited-lines-visible 2)
16269 Boring headers can be hidden (@pxref{Article Hiding}).
16272 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook
16273 'gnus-article-hide-boring-headers t)
16277 Default scoring values can now be set from the menu bar.
16280 Further syntax checking of outgoing articles have been added.
16286 @subsubsection Red Gnus
16288 New features in Gnus 5.4/5.5:
16292 \gnusfig{-5.5cm}{-4cm}{\epsfig{figure=tmp/red.ps,height=20cm}}
16299 @file{nntp.el} has been totally rewritten in an asynchronous fashion.
16302 Article prefetching functionality has been moved up into
16303 Gnus (@pxref{Asynchronous Fetching}).
16306 Scoring can now be performed with logical operators like @code{and},
16307 @code{or}, @code{not}, and parent redirection (@pxref{Advanced
16311 Article washing status can be displayed in the
16312 article mode line (@pxref{Misc Article}).
16315 @file{gnus.el} has been split into many smaller files.
16318 Suppression of duplicate articles based on Message-ID can be done
16319 (@pxref{Duplicate Suppression}).
16322 (setq gnus-suppress-duplicates t)
16326 New variables for specifying what score and adapt files are to be
16327 considered home score and adapt files (@pxref{Home Score File}) have
16331 @code{nndoc} was rewritten to be easily extendable (@pxref{Document
16332 Server Internals}).
16335 Groups can inherit group parameters from parent topics (@pxref{Topic
16339 Article editing has been revamped and is now actually usable.
16342 Signatures can be recognized in more intelligent fashions
16343 (@pxref{Article Signature}).
16346 Summary pick mode has been made to look more @code{nn}-like. Line
16347 numbers are displayed and the @kbd{.} command can be used to pick
16348 articles (@code{Pick and Read}).
16351 Commands for moving the @file{.newsrc.eld} from one server to
16352 another have been added (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16355 There's a way now to specify that ``uninteresting'' fields be suppressed
16356 when generating lines in buffers (@pxref{Advanced Formatting}).
16359 Several commands in the group buffer can be undone with @kbd{M-C-_}
16363 Scoring can be done on words using the new score type @code{w}
16364 (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16367 Adaptive scoring can be done on a Subject word-by-word basis
16368 (@pxref{Adaptive Scoring}).
16371 (setq gnus-use-adaptive-scoring '(word))
16375 Scores can be decayed (@pxref{Score Decays}).
16378 (setq gnus-decay-scores t)
16382 Scoring can be performed using a regexp on the Date header. The Date is
16383 normalized to compact ISO 8601 format first (@pxref{Score File Format}).
16386 A new command has been added to remove all data on articles from
16387 the native server (@pxref{Changing Servers}).
16390 A new command for reading collections of documents
16391 (@code{nndoc} with @code{nnvirtual} on top) has been added---@kbd{M-C-d}
16392 (@pxref{Really Various Summary Commands}).
16395 Process mark sets can be pushed and popped (@pxref{Setting Process
16399 A new mail-to-news backend makes it possible to post even when the NNTP
16400 server doesn't allow posting (@pxref{Mail-To-News Gateways}).
16403 A new backend for reading searches from Web search engines
16404 (@dfn{DejaNews}, @dfn{Alta Vista}, @dfn{InReference}) has been added
16405 (@pxref{Web Searches}).
16408 Groups inside topics can now be sorted using the standard sorting
16409 functions, and each topic can be sorted independently (@pxref{Topic
16413 Subsets of the groups can be sorted independently (@code{Sorting
16417 Cached articles can be pulled into the groups (@pxref{Summary Generation
16421 \marginpar[\mbox{}\hfill\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}]{\epsfig{figure=tmp/fred.ps,width=3cm}}
16426 Score files are now applied in a more reliable order (@pxref{Score
16430 Reports on where mail messages end up can be generated (@pxref{Splitting
16434 More hooks and functions have been added to remove junk from incoming
16435 mail before saving the mail (@pxref{Washing Mail}).
16438 Emphasized text can be properly fontisized:
16441 (add-hook 'gnus-article-display-hook 'gnus-article-emphasize)
16448 @subsubsection Quassia Gnus
16450 New features in Gnus 5.6.33:
16455 New functionality for using Gnus as an offline newsreader has been
16456 added. A plethora of new commands and modes have been added. See
16457 @pxref{Gnus Unplugged} for the full story.
16460 The @code{nndraft} backend has returned, but works differently than
16461 before. All Message buffers are now also articles in the @code{nndraft}
16462 group, which is created automatically.
16465 @code{gnus-alter-header-function} can now be used to alter header
16469 @code{gnus-summary-goto-article} now accept Message-ID's.
16472 A new Message command for deleting text in the body of a message
16473 outside the region: @kbd{C-c C-v}.
16476 You can now post to component group in @code{nnvirtual} groups with
16480 @code{nntp-rlogin-program}---new variable to ease customization.
16483 @code{C-u C-c C-c} in @code{gnus-article-edit-mode} will now inhibit
16484 re-highlighting of the article buffer.
16487 New element in @code{gnus-boring-article-headers}---@code{long-to}.
16490 @kbd{M-i} symbolic prefix command. See the section "Symbolic
16491 Prefixes" in the Gnus manual for details.
16494 @kbd{L} and @kbd{I} in the summary buffer now take the symbolic prefix
16495 @kbd{a} to add the score rule to the "all.SCORE" file.
16498 @code{gnus-simplify-subject-functions} variable to allow greater
16499 control over simplification.
16502 @kbd{A T}---new command for fetching the current thread.
16505 @kbd{/ T}---new command for including the current thread in the
16509 @kbd{M-RET} is a new Message command for breaking cited text.
16512 @samp{\\1}-expressions are now valid in @code{nnmail-split-methods}.
16515 The @code{custom-face-lookup} function has been removed.
16516 If you used this function in your initialization files, you must
16517 rewrite them to use @code{face-spec-set} instead.
16520 Canceling now uses the current select method. Symbolic prefix
16521 @kbd{a} forces normal posting method.
16524 New command to translate M******** sm*rtq**t*s into proper
16528 For easier debugging of @code{nntp}, you can set
16529 @code{nntp-record-commands} to a non-@code{nil} value.
16532 @code{nntp} now uses @file{~/.authinfo}, a @file{.netrc}-like file, for
16533 controlling where and how to send @sc{authinfo} to @sc{nntp} servers.
16536 A command for editing group parameters from the summary buffer
16540 A history of where mails have been split is available.
16543 A new article date command has been added---@code{article-date-iso8601}.
16546 Subjects can be simplified when threading by setting
16547 @code{gnus-score-thread-simplify}.
16550 A new function for citing in Message has been
16551 added---@code{message-cite-original-without-signature}.
16554 @code{article-strip-all-blank-lines}---new article command.
16557 A new Message command to kill to the end of the article has
16561 A minimum adaptive score can be specified by using the
16562 @code{gnus-adaptive-word-minimum} variable.
16565 The "lapsed date" article header can be kept continually
16566 updated by the @code{gnus-start-date-timer} command.
16569 Web listserv archives can be read with the @code{nnlistserv} backend.
16572 Old dejanews archives can now be read by @code{nnweb}.
16577 @node Newest Features
16578 @subsection Newest Features
16581 Also known as the @dfn{todo list}. Sure to be implemented before the
16584 Be afraid. Be very afraid.
16586 (That a feature appears in this list doesn't necessarily mean that I've
16587 decided to actually implement it. It just means that I think it sounds
16590 (Yes, this is the actual, up-to-the-second todo list.)
16595 Native @sc{mime} support is something that should be done.
16598 Really do unbinhexing.
16601 I would like the zombie-page to contain an URL to the source of the
16602 latest version of gnus or some explanation on where to find it.
16605 A way to continue editing the latest Message composition.
16608 http://www.sonicnet.com/feature/ari3/
16611 facep is not declared.
16614 Include a section in the manual on why the number of articles
16615 isn't the same in the group buffer and on the SPC prompt.
16618 Interacting with rmail fcc isn't easy.
16623 <URL:http://www.falch.no/people/pepper/DSSSL-Lite/archives/>
16624 <URL:http://www.eit.com/software/hypermail/hypermail.html>
16625 <URL:http://homer.ncm.com/>
16626 <URL:http://www.yahoo.com/Computers_and_Internet/Internet/World_Wide_Web/HTML_Converters/>
16627 http://www.uwsg.indiana.edu/hypermail/linux/kernel/9610/index.html
16628 <URL:http://union.ncsa.uiuc.edu/HyperNews/get/www/html/converters.html>
16629 http://www.miranova.com/gnus-list/
16634 @samp{^-- } is made into - in LaTeX.
16637 gnus-kill is much slower than it was in GNUS 4.1.3.
16640 when expunging articles on low score, the sparse nodes keep hanging on?
16642 starting the first time seems to hang Gnus on some systems. Does
16643 NEWGROUPS answer too fast?
16645 nndir doesn't read gzipped files.
16647 FAQ doesn't have an up node?
16649 when moving mail from a procmail spool to the crash-box,
16650 the crash-box is only appropriate to one specific group.
16652 `t' `t' makes X-Faces disappear.
16654 nnmh-be-safe means that crossposted articles will
16655 be marked as unread.
16657 Orphan score entries don't show on "V t" score trace
16659 when clearing out data, the cache data should also be reset.
16661 rewrite gnus-summary-limit-children to be non-recursive
16662 to avoid exceeding lisp nesting on huge groups.
16664 expunged articles are counted when computing scores.
16666 implement gnus-batch-brew-soup
16668 ticked articles aren't easy to read in pick mode -- `n' and
16669 stuff just skips past them. Read articles are the same.
16671 topics that contain just groups with ticked
16672 articles aren't displayed.
16674 nndoc should always allocate unique Message-IDs.
16676 If there are mail groups the first time you use Gnus, Gnus'll
16677 make the mail groups killed.
16679 no "no news is good news" when using topics.
16681 when doing crosspost marking, the cache has to be consulted
16682 and articles have to be removed.
16684 nnweb should fetch complete articles when they are split into several
16687 scoring on head immediate doesn't work.
16689 finding short score file names takes forever.
16691 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16693 nntp-open-rlogin no longer works.
16695 C-u C-x C-s (Summary) switches to the group buffer.
16697 move nnmail-split-history out to the backends.
16699 nnweb doesn't work properly.
16701 using a virtual server name as `gnus-select-method' doesn't work?
16703 when killing/yanking a group from one topic to another in a slave, the
16704 master will yank it first to one topic and then add it to another.
16708 warn user about `=' redirection of a group in the active file?
16710 really unbinhex binhex files.
16712 take over the XEmacs menubar and offer a toggle between the XEmacs
16713 bar and the Gnus bar.
16716 push active file and NOV file parsing down into C code.
16717 `(canonize-message-id id)'
16718 `(mail-parent-message-id references n)'
16719 `(parse-news-nov-line &optional dependency-hashtb)'
16720 `(parse-news-nov-region beg end &optional dependency-hashtb fullp)'
16721 `(parse-news-active-region beg end hashtb)'
16726 nnml .overview directory with splits.
16730 postponed commands.
16732 the selected article show have its Subject displayed in its summary line.
16734 when entering groups, get the real number of unread articles from
16737 sort after gathering threads -- make false roots have the
16738 headers of the oldest orphan with a 0 article number?
16740 nndoc groups should inherit the score files of their parents? Also
16741 inherit copy prompts and save files.
16743 command to start up Gnus (if not running) and enter a mail mode buffer.
16745 allow editing the group description from the group buffer
16746 for backends that support that.
16748 gnus-hide,show-all-topics
16750 groups and sub-topics should be allowed to mingle inside each topic,
16751 and not just list all subtopics at the end.
16753 a command to remove all read articles that are not needed to connect
16754 threads -- `gnus-summary-limit-to-sparse-unread'?
16756 a variable to turn off limiting/cutting of threads in the tree buffer.
16758 a variable to limit how many files are uudecoded.
16760 add zombie groups to a special "New Groups" topic.
16762 server mode command: close/open all connections
16764 put a file date in gnus-score-alist and check whether the file
16765 has been changed before using it.
16767 on exit from a digest group, go to the next article in the parent group.
16769 hide (sub)threads with low score.
16771 when expiring, remove all marks from expired articles.
16773 gnus-summary-limit-to-body
16775 a regexp alist that says what level groups are to be subscribed
16776 on. Eg. -- `(("nnml:" . 1))'.
16778 easier interface to nnkiboze to create ephemeral groups that
16779 contain groups that match a regexp.
16781 allow newlines in <URL:> urls, but remove them before using
16784 If there is no From line, the mail backends should fudge one from the
16787 fuzzy simplifying should strip all non-alpha-numerical info
16788 from subject lines.
16790 gnus-soup-brew-soup-with-high-scores.
16792 nntp-ping-before-connect
16794 command to check whether NOV is evil. "list overview.fmt".
16796 when entering a group, Gnus should look through the score
16797 files very early for `local' atoms and set those local variables.
16799 message annotations.
16801 topics are always yanked before groups, and that's not good.
16803 (set-extent-property extent 'help-echo "String to display in minibuf")
16804 to display help in the minibuffer on buttons under XEmacs.
16806 allow group line format spec to say how many articles there
16811 support qmail maildir spools
16813 `run-with-idle-timer' in gnus-demon.
16815 stop using invisible text properties and start using overlays instead
16817 C-c C-f C-e to add an Expires header.
16819 go from one group to the next; everything is expunged; go to the
16820 next group instead of going to the group buffer.
16822 gnus-renumber-cache -- to renumber the cache using "low" numbers.
16824 record topic changes in the dribble buffer.
16826 `nnfolder-generate-active-file' should look at the folders it
16827 finds and generate proper active ranges.
16829 nneething-look-in-files-for-article-heads variable to control
16830 whether nneething should sniff all files in the directories.
16832 gnus-fetch-article -- start Gnus, enter group, display article
16834 gnus-dont-move-articles-to-same-group variable when respooling.
16836 when messages are crossposted between several auto-expirable groups,
16837 articles aren't properly marked as expirable.
16839 nneething should allow deletion/moving.
16841 TAB on the last button should go to the first button.
16843 if the car of an element in `mail-split-methods' is a function,
16844 and the function returns non-nil, use that as the name of the group(s) to
16847 command for listing all score files that have been applied.
16849 a command in the article buffer to return to `summary' config.
16851 `gnus-always-post-using-current-server' -- variable to override
16852 `C-c C-c' when posting.
16854 nnmail-group-spool-alist -- says where each group should use
16857 when an article is crossposted to an auto-expirable group, the article
16858 should be marker as expirable.
16860 article mode command/menu for "send region as URL to browser".
16862 on errors, jump to info nodes that explain the error. For instance,
16863 on invalid From headers, or on error messages from the nntp server.
16865 when gathering threads, make the article that has no "Re: " the parent.
16866 Also consult Date headers.
16868 a token in splits to call shrink-window-if-larger-than-buffer
16870 `1 0 A M' to do matches on the active hashtb.
16872 duplicates -- command to remove Gnus-Warning header, use the read
16873 Message-ID, delete the "original".
16875 when replying to several messages at once, put the "other" message-ids
16876 into a See-Also header.
16878 support setext: URL:http://www.bsdi.com/setext/
16880 support ProleText: <URL:http://proletext.clari.net/prole/proletext.html>
16882 when browsing a foreign server, the groups that are already subscribed
16883 should be listed as such and not as "K".
16885 generate font names dynamically.
16887 score file mode auto-alist.
16889 allow nndoc to change/add/delete things from documents. Implement
16890 methods for each format for adding an article to the document.
16892 `gnus-fetch-old-headers' `all' value to incorporate
16893 absolutely all headers there is.
16895 function like `|', but concatenate all marked articles
16896 and pipe them to the process.
16898 cache the list of killed (or active) groups in a separate file. Update
16899 the file whenever we read the active file or the list
16900 of killed groups in the .eld file reaches a certain length.
16902 function for starting to edit a file to put into
16903 the current mail group.
16905 score-find-trace should display the total score of the article.
16907 "ghettozie" -- score on Xref header and nix it out after using it
16908 to avoid marking as read in other groups it has been crossposted to.
16910 look at procmail splitting. The backends should create
16911 the groups automatically if a spool file exists for that group.
16913 function for backends to register themselves with Gnus.
16915 when replying to several process-marked articles,
16916 have all the From end up in Cc headers? Variable to toggle.
16918 command to delete a crossposted mail article from all
16919 groups it has been mailed to.
16921 `B c' and `B m' should be crosspost aware.
16923 hide-pgp should also hide PGP public key blocks.
16925 Command in the group buffer to respool process-marked groups.
16927 `gnus-summary-find-matching' should accept
16928 pseudo-"headers" like "body", "head" and "all"
16930 When buttifying <URL: > things, all white space (including
16931 newlines) should be ignored.
16933 Process-marking all groups in a topic should process-mark
16934 groups in subtopics as well.
16936 Add non-native groups to the list of killed groups when killing them.
16938 nntp-suggest-kewl-config to probe the nntp server and suggest
16941 add edit and forward secondary marks.
16943 nnml shouldn't visit its .overview files.
16945 allow customizing sorting within gathered threads.
16947 `B q' shouldn't select the current article.
16949 nnmbox should support a newsgroups file for descriptions.
16951 allow fetching mail from several pop servers.
16953 Be able to specify whether the saving commands save the original
16954 or the formatted article.
16956 a command to reparent with the child process-marked (cf. `T ^'.).
16958 I think the possibility to send a password with nntp-open-rlogin
16959 should be a feature in Red Gnus.
16961 The `Z n' command should be possible to execute from a mouse click.
16963 more limiting functions -- date, etc.
16965 be able to limit on a random header; on body; using reverse matches.
16967 a group parameter (`absofucking-total-expiry') that will make Gnus expire
16968 even unread articles.
16970 a command to print the article buffer as postscript.
16972 variable to disable password fetching when opening by nntp-open-telnet.
16974 manual: more example servers -- nntp with rlogin, telnet
16976 checking for bogus groups should clean topic alists as well.
16978 canceling articles in foreign groups.
16980 article number in folded topics isn't properly updated by
16983 Movement in the group buffer to the next unread group should go to the
16984 next closed topic with unread messages if no group can be found.
16986 Extensive info pages generated on the fly with help everywhere --
16987 in the "*Gnus edit*" buffers, for instance.
16989 Topic movement commands -- like thread movement. Up, down, forward, next.
16991 a way to tick/mark as read Gcc'd articles.
16993 a way to say that all groups within a specific topic comes
16994 from a particular server? Hm.
16996 `gnus-article-fill-if-long-lines' -- a function to fill
16997 the article buffer if there are any looong lines there.
16999 `T h' should jump to the parent topic and fold it.
17001 a command to create an ephemeral nndoc group out of a file,
17002 and then splitting it/moving it to some other group/backend.
17004 a group parameter for nnkiboze groups that says that
17005 all kibozed articles should be entered into the cache.
17007 It should also probably be possible to delimit what
17008 `gnus-jog-cache' does -- for instance, work on just some groups, or on
17009 some levels, and entering just articles that have a score higher than
17012 nnfolder should append to the folder instead of re-writing
17013 the entire folder to disk when accepting new messages.
17015 allow all backends to do the proper thing with .gz files.
17017 a backend for reading collections of babyl files nnbabylfolder?
17019 a command for making the native groups into foreign groups.
17021 server mode command for clearing read marks from all groups
17024 when following up multiple articles, include all To, Cc, etc headers
17027 a command for deciding what the total score of the current
17028 thread is. Also a way to highlight based on this.
17030 command to show and edit group scores
17032 a gnus-tree-minimize-horizontal to minimize tree buffers
17035 command to generate nnml overview file for one group.
17037 `C-u C-u a' -- prompt for many crossposted groups.
17039 keep track of which mail groups have received new articles (in this session).
17040 Be able to generate a report and perhaps do some marking in the group
17043 gnus-build-sparse-threads to a number -- build only sparse threads
17044 that are of that length.
17046 have nnmh respect mh's unseen sequence in .mh_profile.
17048 cache the newsgroups descriptions locally.
17050 asynchronous posting under nntp.
17052 be able to control word adaptive scoring from the score files.
17054 a variable to make `C-c C-c' post using the "current" select method.
17056 `limit-exclude-low-scored-articles'.
17058 if `gnus-summary-show-thread' is a number, hide threads that have
17059 a score lower than this number.
17061 split newsgroup subscription variable up into "order" and "method".
17063 buttonize ange-ftp file names.
17065 a command to make a duplicate copy of the current article
17066 so that each copy can be edited separately.
17068 nnweb should allow fetching from the local nntp server.
17070 record the sorting done in the summary buffer so that
17071 it can be repeated when limiting/regenerating the buffer.
17073 nnml-generate-nov-databses should generate for
17076 when the user does commands in the group buffer, check
17077 the modification time of the .newsrc.eld file and use
17078 ask-user-about-supersession-threat. Also warn when trying
17079 to save .newsrc.eld and it has changed.
17081 M-g on a topic will display all groups with 0 articles in
17084 command to remove all topic stuff.
17086 allow exploding incoming digests when reading incoming mail
17087 and splitting the resulting digests.
17089 nnsoup shouldn't set the `message-' variables.
17091 command to nix out all nnoo state information.
17093 nnmail-process-alist that calls functions if group names
17094 matches an alist -- before saving.
17096 use buffer-invisibility-spec everywhere for hiding text.
17098 variable to activate each group before entering them
17099 to get the (new) number of articles. `gnus-activate-before-entering'.
17101 command to fetch a Message-ID from any buffer, even
17102 starting Gnus first if necessary.
17104 when posting and checking whether a group exists or not, just
17105 ask the nntp server instead of relying on the active hashtb.
17107 buttonize the output of `C-c C-a' in an apropos-like way.
17109 `G p' should understand process/prefix, and allow editing
17110 of several groups at once.
17112 command to create an ephemeral nnvirtual group that
17113 matches some regexp(s).
17115 nndoc should understand "Content-Type: message/rfc822" forwarded messages.
17117 it should be possible to score "thread" on the From header.
17119 hitting RET on a "gnus-uu-archive" pseudo article should unpack it.
17121 `B i' should display the article at once in the summary buffer.
17123 remove the "*" mark at once when unticking an article.
17125 `M-s' should highlight the matching text.
17127 when checking for duplicated mails, use Resent-Message-ID if present.
17129 killing and yanking groups in topics should be better. If killing one copy
17130 of a group that exists in multiple topics, only that copy should
17131 be removed. Yanking should insert the copy, and yanking topics
17132 should be possible to be interspersed with the other yankings.
17134 command for enter a group just to read the cached articles. A way to say
17135 "ignore the nntp connection; just read from the cache."
17137 `X u' should decode base64 articles.
17139 a way to hide all "inner" cited text, leaving just the most
17140 recently cited text.
17142 nnvirtual should be asynchronous.
17144 after editing an article, gnus-original-article-buffer should
17147 there should probably be a way to make Gnus not connect to the
17148 server and just read the articles in the server
17150 allow a `set-default' (or something) to change the default
17151 value of nnoo variables.
17153 a command to import group infos from a .newsrc.eld file.
17155 groups from secondary servers have the entire select method
17156 listed in each group info.
17158 a command for just switching from the summary buffer to the group
17161 a way to specify that some incoming mail washing functions
17162 should only be applied to some groups.
17164 Message `C-f C-t' should ask the user whether to heed
17165 mail-copies-to: never.
17167 new group parameter -- `post-to-server' that says to post
17168 using the current server. Also a variable to do the same.
17170 the slave dribble files should autosave to the slave file names.
17172 a group parameter that says what articles to display on group entry, based
17175 a way to visually distinguish slave Gnusae from masters. (Whip instead
17178 Use DJ Bernstein "From " quoting/dequoting, where applicable.
17180 Why is hide-citation-maybe and hide-citation different? Also
17183 group user-defined meta-parameters.
17187 From: John Griffith <griffith@@sfs.nphil.uni-tuebingen.de>
17189 I like the option for trying to retrieve the FAQ for a group and I was
17190 thinking it would be great if for those newsgroups that had archives
17191 you could also try to read the archive for that group. Part of the
17192 problem is that archives are spread all over the net, unlike FAQs.
17193 What would be best I suppose is to find the one closest to your site.
17195 In any case, there is a list of general news group archives at
17196 ftp://ftp.neosoft.com/pub/users/claird/news.lists/newsgroup_archives.html
17203 From: Jason L Tibbitts III <tibbs@@hpc.uh.edu>
17204 (add-hook 'gnus-select-group-hook
17206 (gnus-group-add-parameter group
17207 (cons 'gnus-group-date-last-entered (list (current-time-string))))))
17209 (defun gnus-user-format-function-d (headers)
17210 "Return the date the group was last read."
17211 (cond ((car (gnus-group-get-parameter gnus-tmp-group 'gnus-group-date-last-entered)))
17216 tanken var at n
\e,Ae
\e(Br du bruker `gnus-startup-file' som prefix (FOO) til ilete
17217 opp en fil FOO-SERVER, FOO-SERVER.el, FOO-SERVER.eld, kan du la den v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en
17218 liste hvor du bruker hvert element i listen som FOO, istedet. da kunne man
17219 hatt forskjellige serveres startup-filer forskjellige steder.
17223 LMI> Well, nnbabyl could alter the group info to heed labels like
17224 LMI> answered and read, I guess.
17226 It could also keep them updated (the same for the Status: header of
17229 They could be used like this:
17233 `M l <name> RET' add label <name> to current message.
17234 `M u <name> RET' remove label <name> from current message.
17235 `/ l <expr> RET' limit summary buffer according to <expr>.
17237 <expr> would be a boolean expression on the labels, e.g.
17239 `/ l bug & !fixed RET'
17242 would show all the messages which are labeled `bug' but not labeled
17245 One could also imagine the labels being used for highlighting, or
17246 affect the summary line format.
17250 Sender: abraham@@dina.kvl.dk
17252 I'd like a gnus-find-file which work like find file, except that it
17253 would recognize things that looks like messages or folders:
17255 - If it is a directory containing numbered files, create an nndir
17258 - For other directories, create a nneething summary buffer.
17260 - For files matching "\\`From ", create a nndoc/mbox summary.
17262 - For files matching "\\`BABYL OPTIONS:", create a nndoc/baby summary.
17264 - For files matching "\\`[^ \t\n]+:", create an *Article* buffer.
17266 - For other files, just find them normally.
17268 I'd like `nneething' to use this function, so it would work on a
17269 directory potentially containing mboxes or babyl files.
17272 Please send a mail to bwarsaw@@cnri.reston.va.us (Barry A. Warsaw) and
17273 tell him what you are doing.
17276 Currently, I get prompted:
17280 decend into sci.something ?
17284 The problem above is that since there is really only one subsection of
17285 science, shouldn't it prompt you for only descending sci.something? If
17286 there was a sci.somethingelse group or section, then it should prompt
17287 for sci? first the sci.something? then sci.somethingelse?...
17290 Ja, det burde v
\e,Af
\e(Bre en m
\e,Ae
\e(Bte
\e,Ae
\e(B si slikt. Kanskje en ny variabel?
17291 `gnus-use-few-score-files'? S
\e,Ae
\e(B kunne score-regler legges til den
17292 "mest" lokale score-fila. F. eks. ville no-gruppene betjenes av
17293 "no.all.SCORE", osv.
17296 What i want is for Gnus to treat any sequence or combination of the following
17297 as a single spoiler warning and hide it all, replacing it with a "Next Page"
17303 more than n blank lines
17305 more than m identical lines
17306 (which should be replaced with button to show them)
17308 any whitespace surrounding any of the above
17312 Well, we could allow a new value to `gnus-thread-ignore-subject' --
17313 `spaces', or something. (We could even default to that.) And then
17314 subjects that differ in white space only could be considered the
17315 "same" subject for threading purposes.
17318 Modes to preprocess the contents (e.g. jka-compr) use the second form
17319 "(REGEXP FUNCTION NON-NIL)" while ordinary modes (e.g. tex) use the first
17320 form "(REGEXP . FUNCTION)", so you could use it to distinguish between
17321 those two types of modes. (auto-modes-alist, insert-file-contents-literally.)
17324 Under XEmacs -- do funny article marks:
17327 soup - bowl of soup
17328 score below - dim light bulb
17329 score over - bright light bulb
17332 Yes. I think the algorithm is as follows:
17337 show-list-of-articles-in-group
17338 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17339 if (no-more-articles-in-group-to-select)
17340 if (articles-selected)
17341 start-reading-selected-articles;
17342 junk-unread-articles;
17347 else if (key-pressed = '.')
17348 if (consolidated-menus) # same as hide-thread in Gnus
17349 select-thread-under-cursor;
17351 select-article-under-cursor;
17355 if (key-pressed == SPACE)
17356 if (more-pages-in-article)
17358 else if (more-selected-articles-to-read)
17365 My precise need here would have been to limit files to Incoming*.
17366 One could think of some `nneething-only-files' variable, but I guess
17367 it would have been unacceptable if one was using many unrelated such
17370 A more useful approach would be to, in response to the `G D' prompt, be
17371 allowed to say something like: `~/.mail/Incoming*', somewhat limiting
17372 the top-level directory only (in case directories would be matched by
17373 the wildcard expression).
17376 It would be nice if it also handled
17378 <URL:news://sunsite.auc.dk/>
17380 which should correspond to `B nntp RET sunsite.auc.dk' in *Group*.
17385 Take a look at w3-menu.el in the Emacs-W3 distribution - this works out
17386 really well. Each menu is 'named' by a symbol that would be on a
17387 gnus-*-menus (where * would be whatever, but at least group, summary, and
17388 article versions) variable.
17390 So for gnus-summary-menus, I would set to '(sort mark dispose ...)
17392 A value of '1' would just put _all_ the menus in a single 'GNUS' menu in
17393 the main menubar. This approach works really well for Emacs-W3 and VM.
17397 nndoc should take care to create unique Message-IDs for all its
17400 gnus-score-followup-article only works when you have a summary buffer
17401 active. Make it work when posting from the group buffer as well.
17402 (message-sent-hook).
17404 rewrite gnus-demon to use run-with-idle-timers.
17407 * Enhancements to Gnus:
17411 * gnus-servers (gnus-start-server-buffer?)--enters Gnus and goes
17412 straight to the server buffer, without opening any connections to
17415 * gnus-server-read-server-newsrc--produces a buffer very similar to
17416 the group buffer, but with only groups from that server listed;
17417 quitting this buffer returns to the server buffer.
17420 add a command to check the integrity of an nnfolder folder --
17421 go through the article numbers and see that there are no duplicates,
17425 `unsmileyfy-buffer' to undo smileification.
17428 a command to give all relevant info on an article, including all
17432 when doing `-request-accept-article', the backends should do
17433 the nnmail duplicate checking.
17436 allow `message-signature-file' to be a function to return the
17437 value of the signature file.
17440 In addition, I would love it if I could configure message-tab so that it
17441 could call `bbdb-complete-name' in other headers. So, some sort of
17444 (setq message-tab-alist
17445 '((message-header-regexp message-expand-group)
17446 ("^\\(To\\|[cC]c\\|[bB]cc\\)" bbdb-complete-name)))
17448 then you could run the relevant function to complete the information in
17452 cache the newsgroups file locally to avoid reloading it all the time.
17455 a command to import a buffer into a group.
17458 nnweb should allow fetching by Message-ID from servers.
17461 point in the article buffer doesn't always go to the
17462 beginning of the buffer when selecting new articles.
17465 a command to process mark all unread articles.
17468 `gnus-gather-threads-by-references-and-subject' -- first
17469 do gathering by references, and then go through the dummy roots and
17470 do more gathering by subject.
17473 gnus-uu-mark-in-numerical-order -- process mark articles in
17474 article numerical order.
17477 (gnus-thread-total-score
17478 (gnus-id-to-thread (mail-header-id (gnus-summary-article-header))))
17482 sorting by score is wrong when using sparse threads.
17485 a command to fetch an arbitrary article -- without having to be
17486 in the summary buffer.
17489 a new nncvs backend. Each group would show an article, using
17490 version branches as threading, checkin date as the date, etc.
17493 http://www.dejanews.com/forms/dnsetfilter_exp.html ?
17494 This filter allows one to construct advance queries on the Dejanews
17495 database such as specifying start and end dates, subject, author,
17496 and/or newsgroup name.
17499 new Date header scoring type -- older, newer
17502 use the summary toolbar in the article buffer.
17505 a command to fetch all articles that are less than X days old.
17508 in pick mode, `q' should save the list of selected articles in the
17509 group info. The next time the group is selected, these articles
17510 will automatically get the process mark.
17513 Isn't it possible to (also?) allow M-^ to automatically try the
17514 default server if it fails on the current server? (controlled by a
17515 user variable, (nil, t, 'ask)).
17518 make it possible to cancel articles using the select method for the
17522 `gnus-summary-select-article-on-entry' or something. It'll default
17523 to t and will select whatever article decided by `gnus-auto-select-first'.
17526 a new variable to control which selection commands should be unselecting.
17527 `first', `best', `next', `prev', `next-unread', `prev-unread' are
17531 be able to select groups that have no articles in them
17532 to be able to post in them (using the current select method).
17535 be able to post via DejaNews.
17538 `x' should retain any sortings that have been performed.
17541 allow the user to specify the precedence of the secondary marks. Also
17542 allow them to be displayed separately.
17545 gnus-summary-save-in-pipe should concatenate the results from
17546 the processes when doing a process marked pipe.
17549 a new match type, like Followup, but which adds Thread matches on all
17550 articles that match a certain From header.
17553 a function that can be read from kill-emacs-query-functions to offer
17554 saving living summary buffers.
17557 a function for selecting a particular group which will contain
17558 the articles listed in a list of article numbers/id's.
17561 a battery of character translation functions to translate common
17562 Mac, MS (etc) characters into ISO 8859-1.
17565 (defun article-fix-m$word ()
17566 "Fix M$Word smartquotes in an article."
17569 (let ((buffer-read-only nil))
17570 (goto-char (point-min))
17571 (while (search-forward "\221" nil t)
17572 (replace-match "`" t t))
17573 (goto-char (point-min))
17574 (while (search-forward "\222" nil t)
17575 (replace-match "'" t t))
17576 (goto-char (point-min))
17577 (while (search-forward "\223" nil t)
17578 (replace-match "\"" t t))
17579 (goto-char (point-min))
17580 (while (search-forward "\224" nil t)
17581 (replace-match "\"" t t)))))
17586 (add-hook 'gnus-exit-query-functions
17588 (if (and (file-exists-p nnmail-spool-file)
17589 (> (nnheader-file-size nnmail-spool-file) 0))
17590 (yes-or-no-p "New mail has arrived. Quit Gnus anyways? ")
17591 (y-or-n-p "Are you sure you want to quit Gnus? "))))
17595 allow message-default-headers to be a function.
17598 new Date score match types -- < > = (etc) that take floating point
17599 numbers and match on the age of the article.
17602 gnus-cacheable-groups
17606 > > > If so, I've got one gripe: It seems that when I fire up gnus 5.2.25
17607 > > > under xemacs-19.14, it's creating a new frame, but is erasing the
17608 > > > buffer in the frame that it was called from =:-O
17610 > > Hm. How do you start up Gnus? From the toolbar or with
17611 > > `M-x gnus-other-frame'?
17613 > I normally start it up from the toolbar; at
17614 > least that's the way I've caught it doing the
17619 all commands that react to the process mark should push
17620 the current process mark set onto the stack.
17623 gnus-article-hide-pgp
17624 Selv ville jeg nok ha valgt islette den dersom teksten matcher
17626 "\\(This\s+\\)?[^ ]+ has been automatically signed by"
17628 og det er maks hundre tegn mellom match-end og ----linja. Men -det-
17629 er min type heuristikk og langt fra alles.
17632 `gnus-subscribe-sorted' -- insert new groups where they would have been
17633 sorted to if `gnus-group-sort-function' were run.
17636 gnus-(group,summary)-highlight should respect any `face' text props set
17640 use run-with-idle-timer for gnus-demon instead of the
17641 home-brewed stuff for better reliability.
17644 add a way to select which NoCeM type to apply -- spam, troll, etc.
17647 nndraft-request-group should tally autosave files.
17650 implement nntp-retry-on-break and nntp-command-timeout.
17653 gnus-article-highlight-limit that says when not to highlight (long)
17657 (nnoo-set SERVER VARIABLE VALUE)
17663 interrupitng agent fetching of articles should save articles.
17666 command to open a digest group, and copy all the articles there to the
17670 a variable to disable article body highlights if there's more than
17671 X characters in the body.
17674 handle 480/381 authinfo requests separately.
17677 include the texi/dir file in the distribution.
17680 format spec to "tab" to a position.
17683 Move all prompting to the new `M-n' default style.
17686 command to display all dormant articles.
17689 gnus-auto-select-next makeover -- list of things it should do.
17692 a score match type that adds scores matching on From if From has replied
17693 to something someone else has said.
17696 Read Netscape discussion groups:
17697 snews://secnews.netscape.com/netscape.communicator.unix
17700 One command to edit the original version if an article, and one to edit
17701 the displayed version.
17704 @kbd{T v} -- make all process-marked articles the children of the
17708 Switch from initial text to the new default text mechanism.
17711 How about making it possible to expire local articles? Will it be
17712 possible to make various constraints on when an article can be
17713 expired, e.g. (read), (age > 14 days), or the more interesting (read
17717 New limit command---limit to articles that have a certain string
17718 in the head or body.
17721 Allow breaking lengthy NNTP commands.
17724 gnus-article-highlight-limit, to disable highlighting in big articles.
17727 Editing an article should put the article to be edited
17728 in a special, unique buffer.
17731 A command to send a mail to the admin-address group param.
17734 A Date scoring type that will match if the article
17735 is less than a certain number of days old.
17738 New spec: %~(tab 56) to put point on column 56
17741 Allow Gnus Agent scoring to use normal score files.
17744 Rething the Agent active file thing. `M-g' doesn't update the active
17745 file, for instance.
17748 With dummy roots, `^' and then selecing the first article
17749 in any other dummy thread will make gnus highlight the
17750 dummy root instead of the first article.
17753 Propagate all group properties (marks, article numbers, etc) up to the
17754 topics for displaying.
17757 `n' in the group buffer with topics should go to the next group
17758 with unread articles, even if that group is hidden in a topic.
17761 gnus-posting-styles doesn't work in drafts.
17764 gnus-summary-limit-include-cached is slow when there are
17765 many articles in the cache, since it regenerates big parts of the
17766 summary buffer for each article.
17769 Implement gnus-batch-brew-soup.
17772 Solve the halting problem.
17781 @section The Manual
17785 This manual was generated from a TeXinfo file and then run through
17786 either @code{texi2dvi}
17788 or my own home-brewed TeXinfo to \LaTeX\ transformer,
17789 and then run through @code{latex} and @code{dvips}
17791 to get what you hold in your hands now.
17793 The following conventions have been used:
17798 This is a @samp{string}
17801 This is a @kbd{keystroke}
17804 This is a @file{file}
17807 This is a @code{symbol}
17811 So if I were to say ``set @code{flargnoze} to @samp{yes}'', that would
17815 (setq flargnoze "yes")
17818 If I say ``set @code{flumphel} to @code{yes}'', that would mean:
17821 (setq flumphel 'yes)
17824 @samp{yes} and @code{yes} are two @emph{very} different things---don't
17825 ever get them confused.
17829 Of course, everything in this manual is of vital interest, so you should
17830 read it all. Several times. However, if you feel like skimming the
17831 manual, look for that gnu head you should see in the margin over
17832 there---it means that what's being discussed is of more importance than
17833 the rest of the stuff. (On the other hand, if everything is infinitely
17834 important, how can anything be more important than that? Just one more
17835 of the mysteries of this world, I guess.)
17843 @section Terminology
17845 @cindex terminology
17850 This is what you are supposed to use this thing for---reading news.
17851 News is generally fetched from a nearby @sc{nntp} server, and is
17852 generally publicly available to everybody. If you post news, the entire
17853 world is likely to read just what you have written, and they'll all
17854 snigger mischievously. Behind your back.
17858 Everything that's delivered to you personally is mail. Some news/mail
17859 readers (like Gnus) blur the distinction between mail and news, but
17860 there is a difference. Mail is private. News is public. Mailing is
17861 not posting, and replying is not following up.
17865 Send a mail to the person who has written what you are reading.
17869 Post an article to the current newsgroup responding to the article you
17874 Gnus gets fed articles from a number of backends, both news and mail
17875 backends. Gnus does not handle the underlying media, so to speak---this
17876 is all done by the backends.
17880 Gnus will always use one method (and backend) as the @dfn{native}, or
17881 default, way of getting news.
17885 You can also have any number of foreign groups active at the same time.
17886 These are groups that use non-native non-secondary backends for getting
17891 Secondary backends are somewhere half-way between being native and being
17892 foreign, but they mostly act like they are native.
17896 A message that has been posted as news.
17899 @cindex mail message
17900 A message that has been mailed.
17904 A mail message or news article
17908 The top part of a message, where administrative information (etc.) is
17913 The rest of an article. Everything not in the head is in the
17918 A line from the head of an article.
17922 A collection of such lines, or a collection of heads. Or even a
17923 collection of @sc{nov} lines.
17927 When Gnus enters a group, it asks the backend for the headers of all
17928 unread articles in the group. Most servers support the News OverView
17929 format, which is more compact and much faster to read and parse than the
17930 normal @sc{head} format.
17934 Each group is subscribed at some @dfn{level} or other (1-9). The ones
17935 that have a lower level are ``more'' subscribed than the groups with a
17936 higher level. In fact, groups on levels 1-5 are considered
17937 @dfn{subscribed}; 6-7 are @dfn{unsubscribed}; 8 are @dfn{zombies}; and 9
17938 are @dfn{killed}. Commands for listing groups and scanning for new
17939 articles will all use the numeric prefix as @dfn{working level}.
17941 @item killed groups
17942 @cindex killed groups
17943 No information on killed groups is stored or updated, which makes killed
17944 groups much easier to handle than subscribed groups.
17946 @item zombie groups
17947 @cindex zombie groups
17948 Just like killed groups, only slightly less dead.
17951 @cindex active file
17952 The news server has to keep track of what articles it carries, and what
17953 groups exist. All this information in stored in the active file, which
17954 is rather large, as you might surmise.
17957 @cindex bogus groups
17958 A group that exists in the @file{.newsrc} file, but isn't known to the
17959 server (i.e., it isn't in the active file), is a @emph{bogus group}.
17960 This means that the group probably doesn't exist (any more).
17963 @cindex activating groups
17964 The act of asking the server for info on a group and computing the
17965 number of unread articles is called @dfn{activating the group}.
17966 Un-activated groups are listed with @samp{*} in the group buffer.
17970 A machine one can connect to and get news (or mail) from.
17972 @item select method
17973 @cindex select method
17974 A structure that specifies the backend, the server and the virtual
17977 @item virtual server
17978 @cindex virtual server
17979 A named select method. Since a select method defines all there is to
17980 know about connecting to a (physical) server, taking the thing as a
17981 whole is a virtual server.
17985 Taking a buffer and running it through a filter of some sort. The
17986 result will (more often than not) be cleaner and more pleasing than the
17989 @item ephemeral groups
17990 @cindex ephemeral groups
17991 Most groups store data on what articles you have read. @dfn{Ephemeral}
17992 groups are groups that will have no data stored---when you exit the
17993 group, it'll disappear into the aether.
17996 @cindex solid groups
17997 This is the opposite of ephemeral groups. All groups listed in the
17998 group buffer are solid groups.
18000 @item sparse articles
18001 @cindex sparse articles
18002 These are article placeholders shown in the summary buffer when
18003 @code{gnus-build-sparse-threads} has been switched on.
18007 To put responses to articles directly after the articles they respond
18008 to---in a hierarchical fashion.
18012 @cindex thread root
18013 The first article in a thread is the root. It is the ancestor of all
18014 articles in the thread.
18018 An article that has responses.
18022 An article that responds to a different article---its parent.
18026 A collection of messages in one file. The most common digest format is
18027 specified by RFC1153.
18033 @node Customization
18034 @section Customization
18035 @cindex general customization
18037 All variables are properly documented elsewhere in this manual. This
18038 section is designed to give general pointers on how to customize Gnus
18039 for some quite common situations.
18042 * Slow/Expensive Connection:: You run a local Emacs and get the news elsewhere.
18043 * Slow Terminal Connection:: You run a remote Emacs.
18044 * Little Disk Space:: You feel that having large setup files is icky.
18045 * Slow Machine:: You feel like buying a faster machine.
18049 @node Slow/Expensive Connection
18050 @subsection Slow/Expensive @sc{nntp} Connection
18052 If you run Emacs on a machine locally, and get your news from a machine
18053 over some very thin strings, you want to cut down on the amount of data
18054 Gnus has to get from the @sc{nntp} server.
18058 @item gnus-read-active-file
18059 Set this to @code{nil}, which will inhibit Gnus from requesting the
18060 entire active file from the server. This file is often v. large. You
18061 also have to set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18062 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make sure that Gnus
18063 doesn't suddenly decide to fetch the active file anyway.
18065 @item gnus-nov-is-evil
18066 This one has to be @code{nil}. If not, grabbing article headers from
18067 the @sc{nntp} server will not be very fast. Not all @sc{nntp} servers
18068 support @sc{xover}; Gnus will detect this by itself.
18072 @node Slow Terminal Connection
18073 @subsection Slow Terminal Connection
18075 Let's say you use your home computer for dialing up the system that runs
18076 Emacs and Gnus. If your modem is slow, you want to reduce (as much as
18077 possible) the amount of data sent over the wires.
18081 @item gnus-auto-center-summary
18082 Set this to @code{nil} to inhibit Gnus from re-centering the summary
18083 buffer all the time. If it is @code{vertical}, do only vertical
18084 re-centering. If it is neither @code{nil} nor @code{vertical}, do both
18085 horizontal and vertical recentering.
18087 @item gnus-visible-headers
18088 Cut down on the headers included in the articles to the
18089 minimum. You can, in fact, make do without them altogether---most of the
18090 useful data is in the summary buffer, anyway. Set this variable to
18091 @samp{^NEVVVVER} or @samp{From:}, or whatever you feel you need.
18093 @item gnus-article-display-hook
18094 Set this hook to all the available hiding commands:
18096 (setq gnus-article-display-hook
18097 '(gnus-article-hide-headers gnus-article-hide-signature
18098 gnus-article-hide-citation))
18101 @item gnus-use-full-window
18102 By setting this to @code{nil}, you can make all the windows smaller.
18103 While this doesn't really cut down much generally, it means that you
18104 have to see smaller portions of articles before deciding that you didn't
18105 want to read them anyway.
18107 @item gnus-thread-hide-subtree
18108 If this is non-@code{nil}, all threads in the summary buffer will be
18111 @item gnus-updated-mode-lines
18112 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not put information in the buffer mode
18113 lines, which might save some time.
18117 @node Little Disk Space
18118 @subsection Little Disk Space
18121 The startup files can get rather large, so you may want to cut their
18122 sizes a bit if you are running out of space.
18126 @item gnus-save-newsrc-file
18127 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will never save @file{.newsrc}---it will
18128 only save @file{.newsrc.eld}. This means that you will not be able to
18129 use any other newsreaders than Gnus. This variable is @code{t} by
18132 @item gnus-save-killed-list
18133 If this is @code{nil}, Gnus will not save the list of dead groups. You
18134 should also set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} to @code{ask-server}
18135 and @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} if you set this
18136 variable to @code{nil}. This variable is @code{t} by default.
18142 @subsection Slow Machine
18143 @cindex slow machine
18145 If you have a slow machine, or are just really impatient, there are a
18146 few things you can do to make Gnus run faster.
18148 Set @code{gnus-check-new-newsgroups} and
18149 @code{gnus-check-bogus-newsgroups} to @code{nil} to make startup faster.
18151 Set @code{gnus-show-threads}, @code{gnus-use-cross-reference} and
18152 @code{gnus-nov-is-evil} to @code{nil} to make entering and exiting the
18153 summary buffer faster.
18155 Set @code{gnus-article-display-hook} to @code{nil} to make article
18156 processing a bit faster.
18160 @node Troubleshooting
18161 @section Troubleshooting
18162 @cindex troubleshooting
18164 Gnus works @emph{so} well straight out of the box---I can't imagine any
18172 Make sure your computer is switched on.
18175 Make sure that you really load the current Gnus version. If you have
18176 been running @sc{gnus}, you need to exit Emacs and start it up again before
18180 Try doing an @kbd{M-x gnus-version}. If you get something that looks
18181 like @samp{Gnus v5.46; nntp 4.0} you have the right files loaded. If,
18182 on the other hand, you get something like @samp{NNTP 3.x} or @samp{nntp
18183 flee}, you have some old @file{.el} files lying around. Delete these.
18186 Read the help group (@kbd{G h} in the group buffer) for a FAQ and a
18190 @vindex max-lisp-eval-depth
18191 Gnus works on many recursive structures, and in some extreme (and very
18192 rare) cases Gnus may recurse down ``too deeply'' and Emacs will beep at
18193 you. If this happens to you, set @code{max-lisp-eval-depth} to 500 or
18194 something like that.
18197 If all else fails, report the problem as a bug.
18200 @cindex reporting bugs
18202 @kindex M-x gnus-bug
18204 If you find a bug in Gnus, you can report it with the @kbd{M-x gnus-bug}
18205 command. @kbd{M-x set-variable RET debug-on-error RET t RET}, and send
18206 me the backtrace. I will fix bugs, but I can only fix them if you send
18207 me a precise description as to how to reproduce the bug.
18209 You really can never be too detailed in a bug report. Always use the
18210 @kbd{M-x gnus-bug} command when you make bug reports, even if it creates
18211 a 10Kb mail each time you use it, and even if you have sent me your
18212 environment 500 times before. I don't care. I want the full info each
18215 It is also important to remember that I have no memory whatsoever. If
18216 you send a bug report, and I send you a reply, and then you just send
18217 back ``No, it's not! Moron!'', I will have no idea what you are
18218 insulting me about. Always over-explain everything. It's much easier
18219 for all of us---if I don't have all the information I need, I will just
18220 mail you and ask for more info, and everything takes more time.
18222 If the problem you're seeing is very visual, and you can't quite explain
18223 it, copy the Emacs window to a file (with @code{xwd}, for instance), put
18224 it somewhere it can be reached, and include the URL of the picture in
18227 If you just need help, you are better off asking on
18228 @samp{gnu.emacs.gnus}. I'm not very helpful.
18230 @cindex gnu.emacs.gnus
18231 @cindex ding mailing list
18232 You can also ask on the ding mailing list---@samp{ding@@gnus.org}.
18233 Write to @samp{ding-request@@gnus.org} to subscribe.
18237 @node A Programmers Guide to Gnus
18238 @section A Programmer@'s Guide to Gnus
18240 It is my hope that other people will figure out smart stuff that Gnus
18241 can do, and that other people will write those smart things as well. To
18242 facilitate that I thought it would be a good idea to describe the inner
18243 workings of Gnus. And some of the not-so-inner workings, while I'm at
18246 You can never expect the internals of a program not to change, but I
18247 will be defining (in some details) the interface between Gnus and its
18248 backends (this is written in stone), the format of the score files
18249 (ditto), data structures (some are less likely to change than others)
18250 and general methods of operation.
18253 * Gnus Utility Functions:: Common functions and variable to use.
18254 * Backend Interface:: How Gnus communicates with the servers.
18255 * Score File Syntax:: A BNF definition of the score file standard.
18256 * Headers:: How Gnus stores headers internally.
18257 * Ranges:: A handy format for storing mucho numbers.
18258 * Group Info:: The group info format.
18259 * Extended Interactive:: Symbolic prefixes and stuff.
18260 * Emacs/XEmacs Code:: Gnus can be run under all modern Emacsen.
18261 * Various File Formats:: Formats of files that Gnus use.
18265 @node Gnus Utility Functions
18266 @subsection Gnus Utility Functions
18267 @cindex Gnus utility functions
18268 @cindex utility functions
18270 @cindex internal variables
18272 When writing small functions to be run from hooks (and stuff), it's
18273 vital to have access to the Gnus internal functions and variables.
18274 Below is a list of the most common ones.
18278 @item gnus-newsgroup-name
18279 @vindex gnus-newsgroup-name
18280 This variable holds the name of the current newsgroup.
18282 @item gnus-find-method-for-group
18283 @findex gnus-find-method-for-group
18284 A function that returns the select method for @var{group}.
18286 @item gnus-group-real-name
18287 @findex gnus-group-real-name
18288 Takes a full (prefixed) Gnus group name, and returns the unprefixed
18291 @item gnus-group-prefixed-name
18292 @findex gnus-group-prefixed-name
18293 Takes an unprefixed group name and a select method, and returns the full
18294 (prefixed) Gnus group name.
18296 @item gnus-get-info
18297 @findex gnus-get-info
18298 Returns the group info list for @var{group}.
18300 @item gnus-group-unread
18301 @findex gnus-group-unread
18302 The number of unread articles in @var{group}, or @code{t} if that is
18306 @findex gnus-active
18307 The active entry for @var{group}.
18309 @item gnus-set-active
18310 @findex gnus-set-active
18311 Set the active entry for @var{group}.
18313 @item gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18314 @findex gnus-add-current-to-buffer-list
18315 Adds the current buffer to the list of buffers to be killed on Gnus
18318 @item gnus-continuum-version
18319 @findex gnus-continuum-version
18320 Takes a Gnus version string as a parameter and returns a floating point
18321 number. Earlier versions will always get a lower number than later
18324 @item gnus-group-read-only-p
18325 @findex gnus-group-read-only-p
18326 Says whether @var{group} is read-only or not.
18328 @item gnus-news-group-p
18329 @findex gnus-news-group-p
18330 Says whether @var{group} came from a news backend.
18332 @item gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18333 @findex gnus-ephemeral-group-p
18334 Says whether @var{group} is ephemeral or not.
18336 @item gnus-server-to-method
18337 @findex gnus-server-to-method
18338 Returns the select method corresponding to @var{server}.
18340 @item gnus-server-equal
18341 @findex gnus-server-equal
18342 Says whether two virtual servers are equal.
18344 @item gnus-group-native-p
18345 @findex gnus-group-native-p
18346 Says whether @var{group} is native or not.
18348 @item gnus-group-secondary-p
18349 @findex gnus-group-secondary-p
18350 Says whether @var{group} is secondary or not.
18352 @item gnus-group-foreign-p
18353 @findex gnus-group-foreign-p
18354 Says whether @var{group} is foreign or not.
18356 @item group-group-find-parameter
18357 @findex group-group-find-parameter
18358 Returns the parameter list of @var{group}. If given a second parameter,
18359 returns the value of that parameter for @var{group}.
18361 @item gnus-group-set-parameter
18362 @findex gnus-group-set-parameter
18363 Takes three parameters; @var{group}, @var{parameter} and @var{value}.
18365 @item gnus-narrow-to-body
18366 @findex gnus-narrow-to-body
18367 Narrows the current buffer to the body of the article.
18369 @item gnus-check-backend-function
18370 @findex gnus-check-backend-function
18371 Takes two parameters, @var{function} and @var{group}. If the backend
18372 @var{group} comes from supports @var{function}, return non-@code{nil}.
18375 (gnus-check-backend-function "request-scan" "nnml:misc")
18379 @item gnus-read-method
18380 @findex gnus-read-method
18381 Prompts the user for a select method.
18386 @node Backend Interface
18387 @subsection Backend Interface
18389 Gnus doesn't know anything about @sc{nntp}, spools, mail or virtual
18390 groups. It only knows how to talk to @dfn{virtual servers}. A virtual
18391 server is a @dfn{backend} and some @dfn{backend variables}. As examples
18392 of the first, we have @code{nntp}, @code{nnspool} and @code{nnmbox}. As
18393 examples of the latter we have @code{nntp-port-number} and
18394 @code{nnmbox-directory}.
18396 When Gnus asks for information from a backend---say @code{nntp}---on
18397 something, it will normally include a virtual server name in the
18398 function parameters. (If not, the backend should use the ``current''
18399 virtual server.) For instance, @code{nntp-request-list} takes a virtual
18400 server as its only (optional) parameter. If this virtual server hasn't
18401 been opened, the function should fail.
18403 Note that a virtual server name has no relation to some physical server
18404 name. Take this example:
18408 (nntp-address "ifi.uio.no")
18409 (nntp-port-number 4324))
18412 Here the virtual server name is @samp{odd-one} while the name of
18413 the physical server is @samp{ifi.uio.no}.
18415 The backends should be able to switch between several virtual servers.
18416 The standard backends implement this by keeping an alist of virtual
18417 server environments that they pull down/push up when needed.
18419 There are two groups of interface functions: @dfn{required functions},
18420 which must be present, and @dfn{optional functions}, which Gnus will
18421 always check for presence before attempting to call 'em.
18423 All these functions are expected to return data in the buffer
18424 @code{nntp-server-buffer} (@samp{ *nntpd*}), which is somewhat
18425 unfortunately named, but we'll have to live with it. When I talk about
18426 @dfn{resulting data}, I always refer to the data in that buffer. When I
18427 talk about @dfn{return value}, I talk about the function value returned by
18428 the function call. Functions that fail should return @code{nil} as the
18431 Some backends could be said to be @dfn{server-forming} backends, and
18432 some might be said not to be. The latter are backends that generally
18433 only operate on one group at a time, and have no concept of ``server''
18434 -- they have a group, and they deliver info on that group and nothing
18437 In the examples and definitions I will refer to the imaginary backend
18440 @cindex @code{nnchoke}
18443 * Required Backend Functions:: Functions that must be implemented.
18444 * Optional Backend Functions:: Functions that need not be implemented.
18445 * Error Messaging:: How to get messages and report errors.
18446 * Writing New Backends:: Extending old backends.
18447 * Hooking New Backends Into Gnus:: What has to be done on the Gnus end.
18448 * Mail-like Backends:: Some tips on mail backends.
18452 @node Required Backend Functions
18453 @subsubsection Required Backend Functions
18457 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-headers ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FETCH-OLD)
18459 @var{articles} is either a range of article numbers or a list of
18460 @code{Message-ID}s. Current backends do not fully support either---only
18461 sequences (lists) of article numbers, and most backends do not support
18462 retrieval of @code{Message-ID}s. But they should try for both.
18464 The result data should either be HEADs or NOV lines, and the result
18465 value should either be @code{headers} or @code{nov} to reflect this.
18466 This might later be expanded to @code{various}, which will be a mixture
18467 of HEADs and NOV lines, but this is currently not supported by Gnus.
18469 If @var{fetch-old} is non-@code{nil} it says to try fetching "extra
18470 headers", in some meaning of the word. This is generally done by
18471 fetching (at most) @var{fetch-old} extra headers less than the smallest
18472 article number in @code{articles}, and filling the gaps as well. The
18473 presence of this parameter can be ignored if the backend finds it
18474 cumbersome to follow the request. If this is non-@code{nil} and not a
18475 number, do maximum fetches.
18477 Here's an example HEAD:
18480 221 1056 Article retrieved.
18481 Path: ifi.uio.no!sturles
18482 From: sturles@@ifi.uio.no (Sturle Sunde)
18483 Newsgroups: ifi.discussion
18484 Subject: Re: Something very droll
18485 Date: 27 Oct 1994 14:02:57 +0100
18486 Organization: Dept. of Informatics, University of Oslo, Norway
18488 Message-ID: <38o8e1$a0o@@holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no>
18489 References: <38jdmq$4qu@@visbur.ifi.uio.no>
18490 NNTP-Posting-Host: holmenkollen.ifi.uio.no
18494 So a @code{headers} return value would imply that there's a number of
18495 these in the data buffer.
18497 Here's a BNF definition of such a buffer:
18501 head = error / valid-head
18502 error-message = [ "4" / "5" ] 2number " " <error message> eol
18503 valid-head = valid-message *header "." eol
18504 valid-message = "221 " <number> " Article retrieved." eol
18505 header = <text> eol
18508 If the return value is @code{nov}, the data buffer should contain
18509 @dfn{network overview database} lines. These are basically fields
18513 nov-buffer = *nov-line
18514 nov-line = 8*9 [ field <TAB> ] eol
18515 field = <text except TAB>
18518 For a closer look at what should be in those fields,
18522 @item (nnchoke-open-server SERVER &optional DEFINITIONS)
18524 @var{server} is here the virtual server name. @var{definitions} is a
18525 list of @code{(VARIABLE VALUE)} pairs that define this virtual server.
18527 If the server can't be opened, no error should be signaled. The backend
18528 may then choose to refuse further attempts at connecting to this
18529 server. In fact, it should do so.
18531 If the server is opened already, this function should return a
18532 non-@code{nil} value. There should be no data returned.
18535 @item (nnchoke-close-server &optional SERVER)
18537 Close connection to @var{server} and free all resources connected
18538 to it. Return @code{nil} if the server couldn't be closed for some
18541 There should be no data returned.
18544 @item (nnchoke-request-close)
18546 Close connection to all servers and free all resources that the backend
18547 have reserved. All buffers that have been created by that backend
18548 should be killed. (Not the @code{nntp-server-buffer}, though.) This
18549 function is generally only called when Gnus is shutting down.
18551 There should be no data returned.
18554 @item (nnchoke-server-opened &optional SERVER)
18556 If @var{server} is the current virtual server, and the connection to the
18557 physical server is alive, then this function should return a
18558 non-@code{nil} vlue. This function should under no circumstances
18559 attempt to reconnect to a server we have lost connection to.
18561 There should be no data returned.
18564 @item (nnchoke-status-message &optional SERVER)
18566 This function should return the last error message from @var{server}.
18568 There should be no data returned.
18571 @item (nnchoke-request-article ARTICLE &optional GROUP SERVER TO-BUFFER)
18573 The result data from this function should be the article specified by
18574 @var{article}. This might either be a @code{Message-ID} or a number.
18575 It is optional whether to implement retrieval by @code{Message-ID}, but
18576 it would be nice if that were possible.
18578 If @var{to-buffer} is non-@code{nil}, the result data should be returned
18579 in this buffer instead of the normal data buffer. This is to make it
18580 possible to avoid copying large amounts of data from one buffer to
18581 another, while Gnus mainly requests articles to be inserted directly
18582 into its article buffer.
18584 If it is at all possible, this function should return a cons cell where
18585 the @code{car} is the group name the article was fetched from, and the @code{cdr} is
18586 the article number. This will enable Gnus to find out what the real
18587 group and article numbers are when fetching articles by
18588 @code{Message-ID}. If this isn't possible, @code{t} should be returned
18589 on successful article retrieval.
18592 @item (nnchoke-request-group GROUP &optional SERVER FAST)
18594 Get data on @var{group}. This function also has the side effect of
18595 making @var{group} the current group.
18597 If @var{FAST}, don't bother to return useful data, just make @var{group}
18600 Here's an example of some result data and a definition of the same:
18603 211 56 1000 1059 ifi.discussion
18606 The first number is the status, which should be 211. Next is the
18607 total number of articles in the group, the lowest article number, the
18608 highest article number, and finally the group name. Note that the total
18609 number of articles may be less than one might think while just
18610 considering the highest and lowest article numbers, but some articles
18611 may have been canceled. Gnus just discards the total-number, so
18612 whether one should take the bother to generate it properly (if that is a
18613 problem) is left as an exercise to the reader.
18616 group-status = [ error / info ] eol
18617 error = [ "4" / "5" ] 2<number> " " <Error message>
18618 info = "211 " 3* [ <number> " " ] <string>
18622 @item (nnchoke-close-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18624 Close @var{group} and free any resources connected to it. This will be
18625 a no-op on most backends.
18627 There should be no data returned.
18630 @item (nnchoke-request-list &optional SERVER)
18632 Return a list of all groups available on @var{server}. And that means
18635 Here's an example from a server that only carries two groups:
18638 ifi.test 0000002200 0000002000 y
18639 ifi.discussion 3324 3300 n
18642 On each line we have a group name, then the highest article number in
18643 that group, the lowest article number, and finally a flag.
18646 active-file = *active-line
18647 active-line = name " " <number> " " <number> " " flags eol
18649 flags = "n" / "y" / "m" / "x" / "j" / "=" name
18652 The flag says whether the group is read-only (@samp{n}), is moderated
18653 (@samp{m}), is dead (@samp{x}), is aliased to some other group
18654 (@samp{=other-group}) or none of the above (@samp{y}).
18657 @item (nnchoke-request-post &optional SERVER)
18659 This function should post the current buffer. It might return whether
18660 the posting was successful or not, but that's not required. If, for
18661 instance, the posting is done asynchronously, it has generally not been
18662 completed by the time this function concludes. In that case, this
18663 function should set up some kind of sentinel to beep the user loud and
18664 clear if the posting could not be completed.
18666 There should be no result data from this function.
18671 @node Optional Backend Functions
18672 @subsubsection Optional Backend Functions
18676 @item (nnchoke-retrieve-groups GROUPS &optional SERVER)
18678 @var{groups} is a list of groups, and this function should request data
18679 on all those groups. How it does it is of no concern to Gnus, but it
18680 should attempt to do this in a speedy fashion.
18682 The return value of this function can be either @code{active} or
18683 @code{group}, which says what the format of the result data is. The
18684 former is in the same format as the data from
18685 @code{nnchoke-request-list}, while the latter is a buffer full of lines
18686 in the same format as @code{nnchoke-request-group} gives.
18689 group-buffer = *active-line / *group-status
18693 @item (nnchoke-request-update-info GROUP INFO &optional SERVER)
18695 A Gnus group info (@pxref{Group Info}) is handed to the backend for
18696 alterations. This comes in handy if the backend really carries all the
18697 information (as is the case with virtual and imap groups). This
18698 function should destructively alter the info to suit its needs, and
18699 should return the (altered) group info.
18701 There should be no result data from this function.
18704 @item (nnchoke-request-type GROUP &optional ARTICLE)
18706 When the user issues commands for ``sending news'' (@kbd{F} in the
18707 summary buffer, for instance), Gnus has to know whether the article the
18708 user is following up on is news or mail. This function should return
18709 @code{news} if @var{article} in @var{group} is news, @code{mail} if it
18710 is mail and @code{unknown} if the type can't be decided. (The
18711 @var{article} parameter is necessary in @code{nnvirtual} groups which
18712 might very well combine mail groups and news groups.) Both @var{group}
18713 and @var{article} may be @code{nil}.
18715 There should be no result data from this function.
18718 @item (nnchoke-request-update-mark GROUP ARTICLE MARK)
18720 If the user tries to set a mark that the backend doesn't like, this
18721 function may change the mark. Gnus will use whatever this function
18722 returns as the mark for @var{article} instead of the original
18723 @var{mark}. If the backend doesn't care, it must return the original
18724 @var{mark}, and not @code{nil} or any other type of garbage.
18726 The only use for this I can see is what @code{nnvirtual} does with
18727 it---if a component group is auto-expirable, marking an article as read
18728 in the virtual group should result in the article being marked as
18731 There should be no result data from this function.
18734 @item (nnchoke-request-scan &optional GROUP SERVER)
18736 This function may be called at any time (by Gnus or anything else) to
18737 request that the backend check for incoming articles, in one way or
18738 another. A mail backend will typically read the spool file or query the
18739 POP server when this function is invoked. The @var{group} doesn't have
18740 to be heeded---if the backend decides that it is too much work just
18741 scanning for a single group, it may do a total scan of all groups. It
18742 would be nice, however, to keep things local if that's practical.
18744 There should be no result data from this function.
18747 @item (nnchoke-request-group-description GROUP &optional SERVER)
18749 The result data from this function should be a description of
18753 description-line = name <TAB> description eol
18755 description = <text>
18758 @item (nnchoke-request-list-newsgroups &optional SERVER)
18760 The result data from this function should be the description of all
18761 groups available on the server.
18764 description-buffer = *description-line
18768 @item (nnchoke-request-newgroups DATE &optional SERVER)
18770 The result data from this function should be all groups that were
18771 created after @samp{date}, which is in normal human-readable date
18772 format. The data should be in the active buffer format.
18775 @item (nnchoke-request-create-group GROUP &optional SERVER)
18777 This function should create an empty group with name @var{group}.
18779 There should be no return data.
18782 @item (nnchoke-request-expire-articles ARTICLES &optional GROUP SERVER FORCE)
18784 This function should run the expiry process on all articles in the
18785 @var{articles} range (which is currently a simple list of article
18786 numbers.) It is left up to the backend to decide how old articles
18787 should be before they are removed by this function. If @var{force} is
18788 non-@code{nil}, all @var{articles} should be deleted, no matter how new
18791 This function should return a list of articles that it did not/was not
18794 There should be no result data returned.
18797 @item (nnchoke-request-move-article ARTICLE GROUP SERVER ACCEPT-FORM
18800 This function should move @var{article} (which is a number) from
18801 @var{group} by calling @var{accept-form}.
18803 This function should ready the article in question for moving by
18804 removing any header lines it has added to the article, and generally
18805 should ``tidy up'' the article. Then it should @code{eval}
18806 @var{accept-form} in the buffer where the ``tidy'' article is. This
18807 will do the actual copying. If this @code{eval} returns a
18808 non-@code{nil} value, the article should be removed.
18810 If @var{last} is @code{nil}, that means that there is a high likelihood
18811 that there will be more requests issued shortly, so that allows some
18814 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18815 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18817 There should be no data returned.
18820 @item (nnchoke-request-accept-article GROUP &optional SERVER LAST)
18822 This function takes the current buffer and inserts it into @var{group}.
18823 If @var{last} in @code{nil}, that means that there will be more calls to
18824 this function in short order.
18826 The function should return a cons where the @code{car} is the group name and
18827 the @code{cdr} is the article number that the article was entered as.
18829 There should be no data returned.
18832 @item (nnchoke-request-replace-article ARTICLE GROUP BUFFER)
18834 This function should remove @var{article} (which is a number) from
18835 @var{group} and insert @var{buffer} there instead.
18837 There should be no data returned.
18840 @item (nnchoke-request-delete-group GROUP FORCE &optional SERVER)
18842 This function should delete @var{group}. If @var{force}, it should
18843 really delete all the articles in the group, and then delete the group
18844 itself. (If there is such a thing as ``the group itself''.)
18846 There should be no data returned.
18849 @item (nnchoke-request-rename-group GROUP NEW-NAME &optional SERVER)
18851 This function should rename @var{group} into @var{new-name}. All
18852 articles in @var{group} should move to @var{new-name}.
18854 There should be no data returned.
18859 @node Error Messaging
18860 @subsubsection Error Messaging
18862 @findex nnheader-report
18863 @findex nnheader-get-report
18864 The backends should use the function @code{nnheader-report} to report
18865 error conditions---they should not raise errors when they aren't able to
18866 perform a request. The first argument to this function is the backend
18867 symbol, and the rest are interpreted as arguments to @code{format} if
18868 there are multiple of them, or just a string if there is one of them.
18869 This function must always returns @code{nil}.
18872 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "You did something totally bogus")
18874 (nnheader-report 'nnchoke "Could not request group %s" group)
18877 Gnus, in turn, will call @code{nnheader-get-report} when it gets a
18878 @code{nil} back from a server, and this function returns the most
18879 recently reported message for the backend in question. This function
18880 takes one argument---the server symbol.
18882 Internally, these functions access @var{backend}@code{-status-string},
18883 so the @code{nnchoke} backend will have its error message stored in
18884 @code{nnchoke-status-string}.
18887 @node Writing New Backends
18888 @subsubsection Writing New Backends
18890 Many backends are quite similar. @code{nnml} is just like
18891 @code{nnspool}, but it allows you to edit the articles on the server.
18892 @code{nnmh} is just like @code{nnml}, but it doesn't use an active file,
18893 and it doesn't maintain overview databases. @code{nndir} is just like
18894 @code{nnml}, but it has no concept of ``groups'', and it doesn't allow
18897 It would make sense if it were possible to ``inherit'' functions from
18898 backends when writing new backends. And, indeed, you can do that if you
18899 want to. (You don't have to if you don't want to, of course.)
18901 All the backends declare their public variables and functions by using a
18902 package called @code{nnoo}.
18904 To inherit functions from other backends (and allow other backends to
18905 inherit functions from the current backend), you should use the
18911 This macro declares the first parameter to be a child of the subsequent
18912 parameters. For instance:
18915 (nnoo-declare nndir
18919 @code{nndir} has declared here that it intends to inherit functions from
18920 both @code{nnml} and @code{nnmh}.
18923 This macro is equivalent to @code{defvar}, but registers the variable as
18924 a public server variable. Most state-oriented variables should be
18925 declared with @code{defvoo} instead of @code{defvar}.
18927 In addition to the normal @code{defvar} parameters, it takes a list of
18928 variables in the parent backends to map the variable to when executing
18929 a function in those backends.
18932 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
18933 "Where nndir will look for groups."
18934 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
18937 This means that @code{nnml-current-directory} will be set to
18938 @code{nndir-directory} when an @code{nnml} function is called on behalf
18939 of @code{nndir}. (The same with @code{nnmh}.)
18941 @item nnoo-define-basics
18942 This macro defines some common functions that almost all backends should
18946 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
18950 This macro is just like @code{defun} and takes the same parameters. In
18951 addition to doing the normal @code{defun} things, it registers the
18952 function as being public so that other backends can inherit it.
18954 @item nnoo-map-functions
18955 This macro allows mapping of functions from the current backend to
18956 functions from the parent backends.
18959 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
18960 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
18961 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0))
18964 This means that when @code{nndir-retrieve-headers} is called, the first,
18965 third, and fourth parameters will be passed on to
18966 @code{nnml-retrieve-headers}, while the second parameter is set to the
18967 value of @code{nndir-current-group}.
18970 This macro allows importing functions from backends. It should be the
18971 last thing in the source file, since it will only define functions that
18972 haven't already been defined.
18978 nnmh-request-newgroups)
18982 This means that calls to @code{nndir-request-list} should just be passed
18983 on to @code{nnmh-request-list}, while all public functions from
18984 @code{nnml} that haven't been defined in @code{nndir} yet should be
18989 Below is a slightly shortened version of the @code{nndir} backend.
18992 ;;; nndir.el --- single directory newsgroup access for Gnus
18993 ;; Copyright (C) 1995,96 Free Software Foundation, Inc.
18997 (require 'nnheader)
19001 (eval-when-compile (require 'cl))
19003 (nnoo-declare nndir
19006 (defvoo nndir-directory nil
19007 "Where nndir will look for groups."
19008 nnml-current-directory nnmh-current-directory)
19010 (defvoo nndir-nov-is-evil nil
19011 "*Non-nil means that nndir will never retrieve NOV headers."
19014 (defvoo nndir-current-group "" nil nnml-current-group nnmh-current-group)
19015 (defvoo nndir-top-directory nil nil nnml-directory nnmh-directory)
19016 (defvoo nndir-get-new-mail nil nil nnml-get-new-mail nnmh-get-new-mail)
19018 (defvoo nndir-status-string "" nil nnmh-status-string)
19019 (defconst nndir-version "nndir 1.0")
19021 ;;; Interface functions.
19023 (nnoo-define-basics nndir)
19025 (deffoo nndir-open-server (server &optional defs)
19026 (setq nndir-directory
19027 (or (cadr (assq 'nndir-directory defs))
19029 (unless (assq 'nndir-directory defs)
19030 (push `(nndir-directory ,server) defs))
19031 (push `(nndir-current-group
19032 ,(file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19034 (push `(nndir-top-directory
19035 ,(file-name-directory (directory-file-name nndir-directory)))
19037 (nnoo-change-server 'nndir server defs))
19039 (nnoo-map-functions nndir
19040 (nnml-retrieve-headers 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19041 (nnmh-request-article 0 nndir-current-group 0 0)
19042 (nnmh-request-group nndir-current-group 0 0)
19043 (nnmh-close-group nndir-current-group 0))
19047 nnmh-status-message
19049 nnmh-request-newgroups))
19055 @node Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19056 @subsubsection Hooking New Backends Into Gnus
19058 @vindex gnus-valid-select-methods
19059 Having Gnus start using your new backend is rather easy---you just
19060 declare it with the @code{gnus-declare-backend} functions. This will
19061 enter the backend into the @code{gnus-valid-select-methods} variable.
19063 @code{gnus-declare-backend} takes two parameters---the backend name and
19064 an arbitrary number of @dfn{abilities}.
19069 (gnus-declare-backend "nnchoke" 'mail 'respool 'address)
19072 The abilities can be:
19076 This is a mailish backend---followups should (probably) go via mail.
19078 This is a newsish backend---followups should (probably) go via news.
19080 This backend supports both mail and news.
19082 This is neither a post nor mail backend---it's something completely
19085 It supports respooling---or rather, it is able to modify its source
19086 articles and groups.
19088 The name of the server should be in the virtual server name. This is
19089 true for almost all backends.
19090 @item prompt-address
19091 The user should be prompted for an address when doing commands like
19092 @kbd{B} in the group buffer. This is true for backends like
19093 @code{nntp}, but not @code{nnmbox}, for instance.
19097 @node Mail-like Backends
19098 @subsubsection Mail-like Backends
19100 One of the things that separate the mail backends from the rest of the
19101 backends is the heavy dependence by the mail backends on common
19102 functions in @file{nnmail.el}. For instance, here's the definition of
19103 @code{nnml-request-scan}:
19106 (deffoo nnml-request-scan (&optional group server)
19107 (setq nnml-article-file-alist nil)
19108 (nnmail-get-new-mail 'nnml 'nnml-save-nov nnml-directory group))
19111 It simply calls @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} with a few parameters,
19112 and @code{nnmail} takes care of all the moving and splitting of the
19115 This function takes four parameters.
19119 This should be a symbol to designate which backend is responsible for
19122 @item exit-function
19123 This function should be called after the splitting has been performed.
19125 @item temp-directory
19126 Where the temporary files should be stored.
19129 This optional argument should be a group name if the splitting is to be
19130 performed for one group only.
19133 @code{nnmail-get-new-mail} will call @var{backend}@code{-save-mail} to
19134 save each article. @var{backend}@code{-active-number} will be called to
19135 find the article number assigned to this article.
19137 The function also uses the following variables:
19138 @var{backend}@code{-get-new-mail} (to see whether to get new mail for
19139 this backend); and @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} and
19140 @var{backend}@code{-active-file} to generate the new active file.
19141 @var{backend}@code{-group-alist} should be a group-active alist, like
19145 (("a-group" (1 . 10))
19146 ("some-group" (34 . 39)))
19150 @node Score File Syntax
19151 @subsection Score File Syntax
19153 Score files are meant to be easily parseable, but yet extremely
19154 mallable. It was decided that something that had the same read syntax
19155 as an Emacs Lisp list would fit that spec.
19157 Here's a typical score file:
19161 ("win95" -10000 nil s)
19168 BNF definition of a score file:
19171 score-file = "" / "(" *element ")"
19172 element = rule / atom
19173 rule = string-rule / number-rule / date-rule
19174 string-rule = "(" quote string-header quote space *string-match ")"
19175 number-rule = "(" quote number-header quote space *number-match ")"
19176 date-rule = "(" quote date-header quote space *date-match ")"
19178 string-header = "subject" / "from" / "references" / "message-id" /
19179 "xref" / "body" / "head" / "all" / "followup"
19180 number-header = "lines" / "chars"
19181 date-header = "date"
19182 string-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19183 space date [ "" / [ space string-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19184 score = "nil" / <integer>
19185 date = "nil" / <natural number>
19186 string-match-t = "nil" / "s" / "substring" / "S" / "Substring" /
19187 "r" / "regex" / "R" / "Regex" /
19188 "e" / "exact" / "E" / "Exact" /
19189 "f" / "fuzzy" / "F" / "Fuzzy"
19190 number-match = "(" <integer> [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19191 space date [ "" / [ space number-match-t ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19192 number-match-t = "nil" / "=" / "<" / ">" / ">=" / "<="
19193 date-match = "(" quote <string> quote [ "" / [ space score [ "" /
19194 space date [ "" / [ space date-match-t ] ] ] ] ")"
19195 date-match-t = "nil" / "at" / "before" / "after"
19196 atom = "(" [ required-atom / optional-atom ] ")"
19197 required-atom = mark / expunge / mark-and-expunge / files /
19198 exclude-files / read-only / touched
19199 optional-atom = adapt / local / eval
19200 mark = "mark" space nil-or-number
19201 nil-or-number = "nil" / <integer>
19202 expunge = "expunge" space nil-or-number
19203 mark-and-expunge = "mark-and-expunge" space nil-or-number
19204 files = "files" *[ space <string> ]
19205 exclude-files = "exclude-files" *[ space <string> ]
19206 read-only = "read-only" [ space "nil" / space "t" ]
19207 adapt = "adapt" [ space "ignore" / space "t" / space adapt-rule ]
19208 adapt-rule = "(" *[ <string> *[ "(" <string> <integer> ")" ] ")"
19209 local = "local" *[ space "(" <string> space <form> ")" ]
19210 eval = "eval" space <form>
19211 space = *[ " " / <TAB> / <NEWLINE> ]
19214 Any unrecognized elements in a score file should be ignored, but not
19217 As you can see, white space is needed, but the type and amount of white
19218 space is irrelevant. This means that formatting of the score file is
19219 left up to the programmer---if it's simpler to just spew it all out on
19220 one looong line, then that's ok.
19222 The meaning of the various atoms are explained elsewhere in this
19223 manual (@pxref{Score File Format}).
19227 @subsection Headers
19229 Internally Gnus uses a format for storing article headers that
19230 corresponds to the @sc{nov} format in a mysterious fashion. One could
19231 almost suspect that the author looked at the @sc{nov} specification and
19232 just shamelessly @emph{stole} the entire thing, and one would be right.
19234 @dfn{Header} is a severely overloaded term. ``Header'' is used in
19235 RFC1036 to talk about lines in the head of an article (e.g.,
19236 @code{From}). It is used by many people as a synonym for
19237 ``head''---``the header and the body''. (That should be avoided, in my
19238 opinion.) And Gnus uses a format internally that it calls ``header'',
19239 which is what I'm talking about here. This is a 9-element vector,
19240 basically, with each header (ouch) having one slot.
19242 These slots are, in order: @code{number}, @code{subject}, @code{from},
19243 @code{date}, @code{id}, @code{references}, @code{chars}, @code{lines},
19244 @code{xref}. There are macros for accessing and setting these
19245 slots---they all have predictable names beginning with
19246 @code{mail-header-} and @code{mail-header-set-}, respectively.
19248 The @code{xref} slot is really a @code{misc} slot. Any extra info will
19255 @sc{gnus} introduced a concept that I found so useful that I've started
19256 using it a lot and have elaborated on it greatly.
19258 The question is simple: If you have a large amount of objects that are
19259 identified by numbers (say, articles, to take a @emph{wild} example)
19260 that you want to qualify as being ``included'', a normal sequence isn't
19261 very useful. (A 200,000 length sequence is a bit long-winded.)
19263 The solution is as simple as the question: You just collapse the
19267 (1 2 3 4 5 6 10 11 12)
19270 is transformed into
19273 ((1 . 6) (10 . 12))
19276 To avoid having those nasty @samp{(13 . 13)} elements to denote a
19277 lonesome object, a @samp{13} is a valid element:
19280 ((1 . 6) 7 (10 . 12))
19283 This means that comparing two ranges to find out whether they are equal
19284 is slightly tricky:
19287 ((1 . 5) 7 8 (10 . 12))
19293 ((1 . 5) (7 . 8) (10 . 12))
19296 are equal. In fact, any non-descending list is a range:
19302 is a perfectly valid range, although a pretty long-winded one. This is
19309 and is equal to the previous range.
19311 Here's a BNF definition of ranges. Of course, one must remember the
19312 semantic requirement that the numbers are non-descending. (Any number
19313 of repetition of the same number is allowed, but apt to disappear in
19317 range = simple-range / normal-range
19318 simple-range = "(" number " . " number ")"
19319 normal-range = "(" start-contents ")"
19320 contents = "" / simple-range *[ " " contents ] /
19321 number *[ " " contents ]
19324 Gnus currently uses ranges to keep track of read articles and article
19325 marks. I plan on implementing a number of range operators in C if The
19326 Powers That Be are willing to let me. (I haven't asked yet, because I
19327 need to do some more thinking on what operators I need to make life
19328 totally range-based without ever having to convert back to normal
19333 @subsection Group Info
19335 Gnus stores all permanent info on groups in a @dfn{group info} list.
19336 This list is from three to six elements (or more) long and exhaustively
19337 describes the group.
19339 Here are two example group infos; one is a very simple group while the
19340 second is a more complex one:
19343 ("no.group" 5 (1 . 54324))
19345 ("nnml:my.mail" 3 ((1 . 5) 9 (20 . 55))
19346 ((tick (15 . 19)) (replied 3 6 (19 . 3)))
19348 ((auto-expire . t) (to-address . "ding@@gnus.org")))
19351 The first element is the @dfn{group name}---as Gnus knows the group,
19352 anyway. The second element is the @dfn{subscription level}, which
19353 normally is a small integer. (It can also be the @dfn{rank}, which is a
19354 cons cell where the @code{car} is the level and the @code{cdr} is the
19355 score.) The third element is a list of ranges of read articles. The
19356 fourth element is a list of lists of article marks of various kinds.
19357 The fifth element is the select method (or virtual server, if you like).
19358 The sixth element is a list of @dfn{group parameters}, which is what
19359 this section is about.
19361 Any of the last three elements may be missing if they are not required.
19362 In fact, the vast majority of groups will normally only have the first
19363 three elements, which saves quite a lot of cons cells.
19365 Here's a BNF definition of the group info format:
19368 info = "(" group space ralevel space read
19369 [ "" / [ space marks-list [ "" / [ space method [ "" /
19370 space parameters ] ] ] ] ] ")"
19371 group = quote <string> quote
19372 ralevel = rank / level
19373 level = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19374 rank = "(" level "." score ")"
19375 score = <integer in the range of 1 to inf>
19377 marks-lists = nil / "(" *marks ")"
19378 marks = "(" <string> range ")"
19379 method = "(" <string> *elisp-forms ")"
19380 parameters = "(" *elisp-forms ")"
19383 Actually that @samp{marks} rule is a fib. A @samp{marks} is a
19384 @samp{<string>} consed on to a @samp{range}, but that's a bitch to say
19387 If you have a Gnus info and want to access the elements, Gnus offers a
19388 series of macros for getting/setting these elements.
19391 @item gnus-info-group
19392 @itemx gnus-info-set-group
19393 @findex gnus-info-group
19394 @findex gnus-info-set-group
19395 Get/set the group name.
19397 @item gnus-info-rank
19398 @itemx gnus-info-set-rank
19399 @findex gnus-info-rank
19400 @findex gnus-info-set-rank
19401 Get/set the group rank (@pxref{Group Score}).
19403 @item gnus-info-level
19404 @itemx gnus-info-set-level
19405 @findex gnus-info-level
19406 @findex gnus-info-set-level
19407 Get/set the group level.
19409 @item gnus-info-score
19410 @itemx gnus-info-set-score
19411 @findex gnus-info-score
19412 @findex gnus-info-set-score
19413 Get/set the group score (@pxref{Group Score}).
19415 @item gnus-info-read
19416 @itemx gnus-info-set-read
19417 @findex gnus-info-read
19418 @findex gnus-info-set-read
19419 Get/set the ranges of read articles.
19421 @item gnus-info-marks
19422 @itemx gnus-info-set-marks
19423 @findex gnus-info-marks
19424 @findex gnus-info-set-marks
19425 Get/set the lists of ranges of marked articles.
19427 @item gnus-info-method
19428 @itemx gnus-info-set-method
19429 @findex gnus-info-method
19430 @findex gnus-info-set-method
19431 Get/set the group select method.
19433 @item gnus-info-params
19434 @itemx gnus-info-set-params
19435 @findex gnus-info-params
19436 @findex gnus-info-set-params
19437 Get/set the group parameters.
19440 All the getter functions take one parameter---the info list. The setter
19441 functions take two parameters---the info list and the new value.
19443 The last three elements in the group info aren't mandatory, so it may be
19444 necessary to extend the group info before setting the element. If this
19445 is necessary, you can just pass on a non-@code{nil} third parameter to
19446 the three final setter functions to have this happen automatically.
19449 @node Extended Interactive
19450 @subsection Extended Interactive
19451 @cindex interactive
19452 @findex gnus-interactive
19454 Gnus extends the standard Emacs @code{interactive} specification
19455 slightly to allow easy use of the symbolic prefix (@pxref{Symbolic
19456 Prefixes}). Here's an example of how this is used:
19459 (defun gnus-summary-increase-score (&optional score symp)
19460 (interactive (gnus-interactive "P\ny"))
19465 The best thing to do would have been to implement
19466 @code{gnus-interactive} as a macro which would have returned an
19467 @code{interactive} form, but this isn't possible since Emacs checks
19468 whether a function is interactive or not by simply doing an @code{assq}
19469 on the lambda form. So, instead we have @code{gnus-interactive}
19470 function that takes a string and returns values that are usable to
19471 @code{interactive}.
19473 This function accepts (almost) all normal @code{interactive} specs, but
19478 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbol
19479 The current symbolic prefix---the @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol}
19483 @vindex gnus-current-prefix-symbols
19484 A list of the current symbolic prefixes---the
19485 @code{gnus-current-prefix-symbol} variable.
19488 The current article number---the @code{gnus-summary-article-number}
19492 The current article header---the @code{gnus-summary-article-header}
19496 The current group name---the @code{gnus-group-group-name}
19502 @node Emacs/XEmacs Code
19503 @subsection Emacs/XEmacs Code
19507 While Gnus runs under Emacs, XEmacs and Mule, I decided that one of the
19508 platforms must be the primary one. I chose Emacs. Not because I don't
19509 like XEmacs or Mule, but because it comes first alphabetically.
19511 This means that Gnus will byte-compile under Emacs with nary a warning,
19512 while XEmacs will pump out gigabytes of warnings while byte-compiling.
19513 As I use byte-compilation warnings to help me root out trivial errors in
19514 Gnus, that's very useful.
19516 I've also consistently used Emacs function interfaces, but have used
19517 Gnusey aliases for the functions. To take an example: Emacs defines a
19518 @code{run-at-time} function while XEmacs defines a @code{start-itimer}
19519 function. I then define a function called @code{gnus-run-at-time} that
19520 takes the same parameters as the Emacs @code{run-at-time}. When running
19521 Gnus under Emacs, the former function is just an alias for the latter.
19522 However, when running under XEmacs, the former is an alias for the
19523 following function:
19526 (defun gnus-xmas-run-at-time (time repeat function &rest args)
19530 (,function ,@@args))
19534 This sort of thing has been done for bunches of functions. Gnus does
19535 not redefine any native Emacs functions while running under XEmacs---it
19536 does this @code{defalias} thing with Gnus equivalents instead. Cleaner
19539 In the cases where the XEmacs function interface was obviously cleaner,
19540 I used it instead. For example @code{gnus-region-active-p} is an alias
19541 for @code{region-active-p} in XEmacs, whereas in Emacs it is a function.
19543 Of course, I could have chosen XEmacs as my native platform and done
19544 mapping functions the other way around. But I didn't. The performance
19545 hit these indirections impose on Gnus under XEmacs should be slight.
19548 @node Various File Formats
19549 @subsection Various File Formats
19552 * Active File Format:: Information on articles and groups available.
19553 * Newsgroups File Format:: Group descriptions.
19557 @node Active File Format
19558 @subsubsection Active File Format
19560 The active file lists all groups available on the server in
19561 question. It also lists the highest and lowest current article numbers
19564 Here's an excerpt from a typical active file:
19567 soc.motss 296030 293865 y
19568 alt.binaries.pictures.fractals 3922 3913 n
19569 comp.sources.unix 1605 1593 m
19570 comp.binaries.ibm.pc 5097 5089 y
19571 no.general 1000 900 y
19574 Here's a pseudo-BNF definition of this file:
19577 active = *group-line
19578 group-line = group space high-number space low-number space flag <NEWLINE>
19579 group = <non-white-space string>
19581 high-number = <non-negative integer>
19582 low-number = <positive integer>
19583 flag = "y" / "n" / "m" / "j" / "x" / "=" group
19586 For a full description of this file, see the manual pages for
19587 @samp{innd}, in particular @samp{active(5)}.
19590 @node Newsgroups File Format
19591 @subsubsection Newsgroups File Format
19593 The newsgroups file lists groups along with their descriptions. Not all
19594 groups on the server have to be listed, and not all groups in the file
19595 have to exist on the server. The file is meant purely as information to
19598 The format is quite simple; a group name, a tab, and the description.
19599 Here's the definition:
19603 line = group tab description <NEWLINE>
19604 group = <non-white-space string>
19606 description = <string>
19611 @node Emacs for Heathens
19612 @section Emacs for Heathens
19614 Believe it or not, but some people who use Gnus haven't really used
19615 Emacs much before they embarked on their journey on the Gnus Love Boat.
19616 If you are one of those unfortunates whom ``@kbd{M-C-a}'', ``kill the
19617 region'', and ``set @code{gnus-flargblossen} to an alist where the key
19618 is a regexp that is used for matching on the group name'' are magical
19619 phrases with little or no meaning, then this appendix is for you. If
19620 you are already familiar with Emacs, just ignore this and go fondle your
19624 * Keystrokes:: Entering text and executing commands.
19625 * Emacs Lisp:: The built-in Emacs programming language.
19630 @subsection Keystrokes
19634 Q: What is an experienced Emacs user?
19637 A: A person who wishes that the terminal had pedals.
19640 Yes, when you use Emacs, you are apt to use the control key, the shift
19641 key and the meta key a lot. This is very annoying to some people
19642 (notably @code{vi}le users), and the rest of us just love the hell out
19643 of it. Just give up and submit. Emacs really does stand for
19644 ``Escape-Meta-Alt-Control-Shift'', and not ``Editing Macros'', as you
19645 may have heard from other disreputable sources (like the Emacs author).
19647 The shift keys are normally located near your pinky fingers, and are
19648 normally used to get capital letters and stuff. You probably use it all
19649 the time. The control key is normally marked ``CTRL'' or something like
19650 that. The meta key is, funnily enough, never marked as such on any
19651 keyboard. The one I'm currently at has a key that's marked ``Alt'',
19652 which is the meta key on this keyboard. It's usually located somewhere
19653 to the left hand side of the keyboard, usually on the bottom row.
19655 Now, us Emacs people don't say ``press the meta-control-m key'',
19656 because that's just too inconvenient. We say ``press the @kbd{M-C-m}
19657 key''. @kbd{M-} is the prefix that means ``meta'' and ``C-'' is the
19658 prefix that means ``control''. So ``press @kbd{C-k}'' means ``press
19659 down the control key, and hold it down while you press @kbd{k}''.
19660 ``Press @kbd{M-C-k}'' means ``press down and hold down the meta key and
19661 the control key and then press @kbd{k}''. Simple, ay?
19663 This is somewhat complicated by the fact that not all keyboards have a
19664 meta key. In that case you can use the ``escape'' key. Then @kbd{M-k}
19665 means ``press escape, release escape, press @kbd{k}''. That's much more
19666 work than if you have a meta key, so if that's the case, I respectfully
19667 suggest you get a real keyboard with a meta key. You can't live without
19673 @subsection Emacs Lisp
19675 Emacs is the King of Editors because it's really a Lisp interpreter.
19676 Each and every key you tap runs some Emacs Lisp code snippet, and since
19677 Emacs Lisp is an interpreted language, that means that you can configure
19678 any key to run any arbitrary code. You just, like, do it.
19680 Gnus is written in Emacs Lisp, and is run as a bunch of interpreted
19681 functions. (These are byte-compiled for speed, but it's still
19682 interpreted.) If you decide that you don't like the way Gnus does
19683 certain things, it's trivial to have it do something a different way.
19684 (Well, at least if you know how to write Lisp code.) However, that's
19685 beyond the scope of this manual, so we are simply going to talk about
19686 some common constructs that you normally use in your @file{.emacs} file
19689 If you want to set the variable @code{gnus-florgbnize} to four (4), you
19690 write the following:
19693 (setq gnus-florgbnize 4)
19696 This function (really ``special form'') @code{setq} is the one that can
19697 set a variable to some value. This is really all you need to know. Now
19698 you can go and fill your @code{.emacs} file with lots of these to change
19701 If you have put that thing in your @code{.emacs} file, it will be read
19702 and @code{eval}ed (which is lisp-ese for ``run'') the next time you
19703 start Emacs. If you want to change the variable right away, simply say
19704 @kbd{C-x C-e} after the closing parenthesis. That will @code{eval} the
19705 previous ``form'', which is a simple @code{setq} statement here.
19707 Go ahead---just try it, if you're located at your Emacs. After you
19708 @kbd{C-x C-e}, you will see @samp{4} appear in the echo area, which
19709 is the return value of the form you @code{eval}ed.
19713 If the manual says ``set @code{gnus-read-active-file} to @code{some}'',
19717 (setq gnus-read-active-file 'some)
19720 On the other hand, if the manual says ``set @code{gnus-nntp-server} to
19721 @samp{nntp.ifi.uio.no}'', that means:
19724 (setq gnus-nntp-server "nntp.ifi.uio.no")
19727 So be careful not to mix up strings (the latter) with symbols (the
19728 former). The manual is unambiguous, but it can be confusing.
19731 @include gnus-faq.texi